Non-life insurance premiums up 1.6% in August on crop insurance drag

Non-life insurers saw premiums rise 1.6% in August to Rs 24,953 cr as crop insurance weakened; New India Assurance and National Insurance posted strong growth

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Non-life insurers reported subdued year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth of 1.63 per cent in premiums, reaching Rs 24,953 crore in August, largely due to a decline in the crop insurance business.

 

According to General Insurance Council data, general insurers recorded 4.26 per cent Y-o-Y growth to Rs 20,488.38 crore, while standalone health insurers (SAHIs) posted 4.01 per cent growth to Rs 3,357.66 crore.

 

However, the numbers are not directly comparable with the previous year’s figures, as the insurance regulator revised the accounting formats for reporting long-term premiums effective October 1, 2024. It is assumed that all companies have deducted the long-term premiums accordingly for the current year only, following the IRDAI format.

 

Among the larger players, New India Assurance reported 8.7 per cent Y-o-Y growth to Rs 2,196.8 crore, while ICICI Lombard saw a 2.10 per cent increase to Rs 2,182.17 crore. 

 

Among public sector general insurers, National Insurance posted 44.16 per cent Y-o-Y growth in premiums, Oriental Insurance grew 12.5 per cent, and United India Insurance was up 1.9 per cent.

 

“Industry growth has tapered this year mainly due to a decline in the crop segment (around 9 per cent share), while the fire segment has seen strong growth (around 10 per cent share),” analysts at JM Financial said.

 

According to analysts at Nuvama, given the GST exemption on individual health insurance and input tax credit (ITC) being disallowed, multiline insurers are expected to enjoy greater pricing flexibility than SAHIs.

 

In the April–August period of FY26, non-life insurers recorded Rs 1.34 trillion in premiums, up 6 per cent Y-o-Y.