Health insurers leave general insurance industry far behind in growth in FY24

India's standalone health insurers grew two times faster than the general insurance industry in FY24, ToI reported on April 12 citing data from the General Insurance Council.

The general insurance industry recorded an annual premium of close to Rs 2.9 lakh crore for FY24, marking a 13% rise from the previous fiscal year's Rs 2.6 lakh crore. Similarly, the five standalone health insurance companies saw a significant 26.2% increase in total premium, climbing from Rs 26,243 crore to Rs 33,115 crore during the same period. These statistics are based on preliminary data released by the council.

The rise of standalone health insurance companies' growth can be credited to larger policy sizes, as they introduce high-value policies worth crores. Premium rates have been adjusted to match medical inflation, and coverage has expanded, insurers revealed.

Analysis of Irdai's FY23 report by Emkay Finance shows retail health insurance premiums grew steadily at 20% CAGR from FY12-19. However, between FY19-23, the premium growth rate slowed slightly to 19%, while coverage expansion was limited, with only a 5.9% increase in the number of insured individuals. The growth was mainly driven by price and sum assured adjustments.

In the 11 months leading up to Feb 2024, health insurance premium reached Rs 98,716 crore, a 20% rise from last year's Rs 81,997 crore. This figure encompasses health premium from general insurers and SAHI companies, with health insurance's share for this period increasing to 37.5% from 35.2% in the previous year.

Two new players, Galaxy Health and Narayana Healthcare, enter the health insurance market alongside Star Health, as per V Jagannathan and Surgeon Devi Shetty.

While health insurance premiums are on the rise for most general insurance companies, slower growth in segments like motor is holding back their overall performance, officials revealed. The industry is yet to publish detailed data for the entire year. Specialized insurance sectors, particularly Agriculture Insurance Company and ECGC, have contributed to the non-life industry's sluggish growth this year. Agriculture insurance witnessed a significant 32% decline in premiums, falling from Rs 14,619 crore last year to Rs 9,919 crore.

Private insurance firms saw a robust 14% increase in premiums, reaching nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore from last year's Rs 2.1 lakh crore. Among government insurers, Oriental Insurance showed the highest growth at 17%, while National Insurance lagged at under 1%. Private insurers and SAHI firms collectively boosted their market share by one percentage point.