Health and motor insurance continue to drive growth, while commercial lines and crop insurance remain under pressure

Non-life insurance premium growth moderated in July 2026, with gross direct premiums rising 5.7% year-on-year to Rs 31,397.6 crore, compared with 15.9% growth in June 2026. The slowdown was primarily driven by weaker performance in fire and crop insurance, even as health and motor insurance continued to support industry growth.

According to the latest BFSI Research report, industry premiums grew 9.5% during April–July FY27, compared with 7.1% in the corresponding period of FY26. Excluding fire and crop insurance, industry premium growth during July was estimated at nearly 17%, indicating continued strength in retail insurance segments.

Health Insurance Continues to Lead Industry Growth

Health insurance remained the strongest-performing segment, with premiums increasing 26.0% year-on-year to Rs 15,008.7 crore in July 2026. The segment accounted for nearly half of total monthly industry premiums, supported by continued demand following the GST exemption on individual health insurance policies.

Retail health insurance recorded 31.6% growth, while group health insurance premiums increased 17.9%. Premiums under the "Others" category, which includes government health schemes and overseas medical cover, rose 46.0% during the month.

Standalone Health Insurers (SAHIs) further strengthened their position, increasing their market share in health premiums to 31.1%, up from 30.4% a year earlier.

Motor Insurance Maintains Double-Digit Growth

Motor insurance remained another major contributor to industry expansion, registering 14.0% year-on-year growth in July.

Own Damage (OD) premiums increased 16.9%, while Third Party (TP) premiums grew 11.9%.

The report noted that healthy vehicle sales, higher electric vehicle adoption and increased retail demand continued to support the segment. However, premium growth remained lower than vehicle registration growth due to lower insured values following GST reductions on smaller vehicles and the increasing share of two-wheelers.

Fire and Crop Insurance Pull Down Overall Growth

Fire insurance premiums declined 30.9% year-on-year, reflecting continued competitive pricing across the commercial insurance market.

Crop insurance recorded an even steeper decline of 58.5%, largely because enrolment under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was extended into August, delaying premium bookings.

According to the report, fire and crop insurance together accounted for most of the decline in non-health premiums during the month.

Private Insurers and Health Specialists Gain Market Share

Retail-focused insurers continued to outperform commercial-line players.

Private general insurers reported 8.5% growth in July, while Standalone Health Insurers (SAHIs) recorded 28.8% growth.

Public sector general insurers posted 6.6% growth, supported mainly by health and motor portfolios, while specialised public sector insurers recorded a 75.6% decline, largely due to reduced business in crop insurance.

The report observed that market share continues shifting towards private insurers and SAHIs as industry growth remains concentrated in retail insurance.

Retail Segments Continue to Outperform

Excluding health insurance, overall non-life premiums declined 7.8% year-on-year. However, the report highlighted that the decline was concentrated in fire and crop insurance.

Other retail-focused segments, including marine, engineering and aviation insurance, continued to record growth during the month.

Motor insurance also remained the only major non-health segment consistently gaining market share.

Outlook

According to BFSI Research, health insurance is expected to remain the industry's primary growth driver, although retail health growth may moderate from the third quarter as the GST exemption completes one year.

Motor insurance is likely to benefit from sustained vehicle sales and rising electric vehicle penetration. However, underwriting margins remain dependent on future revisions in third-party insurance tariffs.

Commercial insurance pricing, particularly in the fire segment, continues to remain under pressure, while crop insurance premiums may recover partially in August following the extension of PMFBY enrolment deadlines.