MUMBAI: Health insurance has been steadily increasing its dominance in India’s non-life insurance industry, with its share rising to 40.8% in FY26 from 38.6% in the previous year. Health as a sector grew 15.4% to around Rs 1.4 lakh crore, even as the non-life industry grew at 9.3%, with total direct premium income reaching nearly Rs 3.4 lakh crore in FY26.Independent health insurers accounted for 32.7% of the total health insurance premiums, underwriting Rs 44,863.7 crore out of the industry’s total health insurance premiums of Rs 1,37,144.5 crore. The top five insurers in the health sector were New India Assurance at Rs 21,531.5 crore and 15.7% market share, followed by Star Health & Allied Insurance at Rs 18,435 crore and 13.4% market share. It was followed by Care Health Insurance at Rs 9,768.4 crore (7.1%), ICICI Lombard at Rs 8,617.3 crore (6.3%) and Niva Bupa Health Insurance at Rs 8,479.7 crore (6.2%).
Independent health insurers outperformed the broader industry with growth of 19.4%.The expansion of health insurance stabilized the industry’s performance, while other sectors showed mixed trends. Motor insurance, the second largest sector, saw its share remain largely unchanged at 32.2%, with premiums at around Rs 1.1 lakh crore and growth of 9.2%. Fire insurance increased its share to 8.2% from 7.9%, with premiums at Rs 27,523.8 crore and growth of 13.4%.
Segment grows 15.4% to 1.4L chromium, independent insurers account for 33% of total premiums
Personal accident insurance registered the fastest growth at 35%, taking its share to 3.5% from 2.8% with premiums at Rs 11,603.7 crore. Engineering business grew by 13.1% to Rs 6,801.5 crore at 2% share, while liabilities remained stable at 1.8% with premiums of Rs 5,993.3 crore and growth of 9.6%.Marine insurance saw its share fall slightly to 1.7% from 1.8%, with premiums at Rs 5,819.5 crore and growth of 5.7%. Aviation insurance premiums stood at Rs 1,089.3 crore, with a marginal contraction of 0.8% and share falling by 0.3% from 0.4%.
The diversified segment declined sharply by 17.6%, with its share falling to 9.5% from 12.6%, and premiums stood at Rs 31,931.1 crore.Among insurers overall, New India Assurance retained its leadership with a market share of 12.8%, up from 12.6%, and a growth of 10.9%. ICICI Lombard ranked second with a share of 8.6% and growth of 7.0%. It was followed by Bajaj Allianz with a share of 6.9% and growth of 8.2%. United India Insurance recorded a share of 6.4% with a growth of 6.7%, while Eastern Insurance closed the top five insurers with a share of 6.2% and a growth of 4.6%.
reconnaissance
Which health insurance company do you trust most?