According to Government estimates, India is expected to overtake established markets such as Germany, Canada, Italy and South Korea over the next decade and become sixth largest insurance market in the world.
India’s insurance landscape currently includes 28 non-life insurers and seven independent health insurers, supported by a mix of public sector companies and rapidly expanding private players.
The state-owned GIC Re writes around half of the reinsurance business; the remaining portion is mostly divided among 13 international reinsurance branches, including Lloyd’s.
Valueattics Re, the nation’s first domestic private reinsurer, received regulatory approval in April 2025.
The gross written premium for non-life insurance decreased from 12.8% to 6.2% in the year ending March 2025, reaching $35.9 billion.
With a 38.6% market share, health insurance continued to be the largest segment, followed by motor insurance at 32.2% share; however, both had slower growth as a result of price competition, declining vehicle sales, and increasing costs.
Long-term growth potential is indicated by the industry’s low insurance penetration rate of 3.4% of GDP and the sustained underwriting losses that have kept the combined ratio above 100%.