Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: India’s general insurance industry closed FY26 with gross direct premium income of Rs 3,36,000 crore, up 9 per cent year‑on‑year, a report said on August 18.
The report from BCG said Gross Written Premium rose 10 per cent to Rs 3,44,000 crore as private insurers, including standalone health insurers, continued to lead market expansion.
Private insurers saw GDPI growth of 10 per cent versus 8 per cent for public sector insurers. The report said the industry’s underwriting metrics moved through a rebalancing phase as insurers recalibrated pricing and portfolio mix.
“The combined ratio moved 2 points to 113 per cent, profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs 10,000 crore, down 23 per cent YoY, and industry return on equity settled at 6 per cent, down from 9 per cent a year earlier.
Growth was led by health, where GST rationalization lifted full-year growth to 17 per cent after a slower 10 per cent in the first half, and by Motor, which grew close to 9 per cent even as renewal-heavy portfolios limited full pass-through from the 10.4 per cent rise in auto sales.
Fire and Crop grew more modestly, as insurers leaned into pricing discipline on commercial renewals and calibrated crop discounting to meet Expense of Management (EOM) guidelines. These are the early signs of a market beginning to prioritise sustainable pricing over pure volume, the report noted.
