Public sector insurers post 15 pc premium growth at Rs 6,496 crore in Aug: Report

New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) India's public sector general insurers maintained their faster growth rate for the eleventh consecutive month in August, registering a 15 per cent year-on-year growth in premium at Rs 6,496 crore, a report said on Thursday.

The public sector insurers' premium amount stood at Rs 5.649.5 crore in the same month a year earlier (Aug 2024).

"The growth is largely driven by renewals in the fire, engineering, health, and motor third-party segments," CareEdge ratings said in its report.

However, the switch to the "1/n rule" due to GST reforms has affected overall headline growth.

The non-life insurance sector continued to experience a slowdown in premium growth till the month, with total collections reaching Rs 24,953.0 crore -- a modest 1.6 per cent rise YoY, compared to a 4.2 per cent increase in August 2024.

At the same time, private non-life insurers (including SAHI or standalone health insurers) retained their dominant 70 per cent market share in August 2024 and August 2025, up from 68 per cent in August 2023.

On an annual basis, private insurers continued to hold the majority share, at 64.8 per cent as of August 2025, although this is slightly lower than the 66.4 per cent share reported a year ago.

Meanwhile, the share of public sector insurers increased to 35.2 per cent from 33.6 per cent in August 2024.

The report highlighted that health insurance remains the largest segment within the non-life insurance industry. It has recorded a 14.3 per cent growth in premium from Rs 8,038 crore in August 2024 to Rs 9,183.7 crore in August this year.

The group health segment grew the fastest in year-to-date (YTD) FY26, driven by policy renewals and premium hikes amid rising medical inflation.

However, growth moderated to 10.0 per cent, down from 16.7 per cent in the same period last year. Retail health insurance growth moderated to 8.5 per cent in YTD FY26, down from the 18.3 per cent pace seen in YTD FY25.

--IANS

aps/na