Non-life insurers in India are upbeat, having reported a 27.53% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) premium growth in October 2024. This high rate of growth in business results of general insurers, is driven by standalone health and multi-line insurers, and aided by recovery in motor sales.
In October 2024, general insurers collected premiums of Rs 25,396.68 crore, showcasing a 23% Y-o-Y increase. The biggest of general insurer, New India Assurance, reported a 0.62% Y-o-Y increase in premiums, while the second largest, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, posted a 7.48% Y-o-Y growth. Other PSU insurers, United India Insurance reported a 2.44% Y-o-Y rise, National Insurance exhibited a 156.70% Y-o-Y growth to Rs 2,488.12 crore, and Oriental Insurance’s premiums went up by 11.6%.
The other major private players in general insurance, Bajaj Allianz General reported over 100% Y-o-Y growth to Rs 3,859.72 crore, while HDFC Ergo witnessed a decline of 10.39% Y-o-Y to Rs 1,629.85 crore.
Most importantly, Standalone health insurers (SAHI) reported a healthy growth in premiums of 25% Y-o-Y in October, touching Rs 3,119.06 crore, with Star Health and Allied Insurance reporting a 13.7% Y-o-Y growth to Rs 1,283.63 crore.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has updated the reporting format for premium with effect from October 1, 2024, in which long-term premiums are to be reported based on the 1/N method, where N is the number of days of the policy. With its implementation in progress, the premium growth numbers are not directly comparable.
During April-October 2024 period, non-life insurers registered a growth of 9.9% Y-o-Y in premiums, led by the performance of SAHI players, posting a 24.77% growth in premium. General insurers reported a 9.02% Y-o-Y increase in premiums during this period.