{"id":222650,"date":"2026-01-11T18:13:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T18:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/2026\/01\/11\/health-insurers-fuel-non-life-premium-growth-due-to-gst-benefits\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T18:13:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T18:13:07","slug":"health-insurers-fuel-non-life-premium-growth-due-to-gst-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/2026\/01\/11\/health-insurers-fuel-non-life-premium-growth-due-to-gst-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Health insurers fuel non-life premium growth due to GST benefits."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The non-life insurance industry in India experienced a significant boost in December, with a 14% year-on-year increase in gross direct premium collections, reaching \u20b928,446.82 crore. This growth is the second-strongest monthly expansion in the industry, following a substantial 24.2% jump in November. The main driver behind this surge was the performance of standalone health insurers, which reported a 39% year-on-year rise in premiums, reaching \u20b94,260.10 crore. Star Health and Allied Insurance, the largest player, saw its premiums climb 24% to \u20b91,712 crore.<\/p>\n<p>The growth in the health segment can be attributed to the government&#8217;s decision to exempt GST on individual health insurance policies, making them more affordable and stimulating demand. Public sector general insurers also demonstrated healthy growth, with a 15% increase in gross premium collections to \u20b910,126.36 crore. National Insurance reported a 37% surge in premium income to \u20b91,520.36 crore. Private players, including ICICI Lombard and HDFC Ergo General Insurance, also contributed significantly to the growth, with a 15% year-on-year increase in gross direct premiums to \u20b913,621.42 crore.<\/p>\n<p>The outlook for the non-life insurance industry remains positive, with brokerage firm Emkay Global anticipating continued healthy growth in the December 2025 quarter. The growth is expected to be driven by strength in both the motor and health insurance segments. The retail health segment is poised for robust expansion, directly benefiting from increased affordability following GST exemptions. Additionally, growth in motor insurance is likely to be driven by strong new-vehicle sales, potentially aided by prior GST rate adjustments. Overall, the non-life insurance industry in India is expected to continue its growth momentum, driven by increasing demand for health and motor insurance products. With the government&#8217;s support and growing awareness among consumers, the industry is likely to experience sustained growth in the coming months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The non-life insurance industry in India experienced a significant boost in December, with a 14% year-on-year increase in gross direct premium collections, reaching \u20b928,446.82 crore. This growth is the second-strongest monthly expansion in the industry, following a substantial 24.2% jump in November. The main driver behind this surge was the performance of standalone health insurers, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":221264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17,22,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hdfc-ergo","category-icici-lombard","category-insurance","category-star-health-and-allied-insurance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/Star-Health-Insurance-logo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9ibIB-VV8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":222751,"url":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/2026\/01\/28\/insurers-to-charge-18-gst-on-agents-commission-input-tax-credit-issue\/","url_meta":{"origin":222650,"position":0},"title":"Insurers to charge 18% GST on agents&#8217; commission, Input Tax Credit issue","author":"Team Small News","date":"January 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Indian government's decision to reduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on health insurance premiums from 18% to 0% has had an unintended consequence on the insurance industry. Insurers are now imposing an 18% GST on commissions paid to agents and distributors to offset losses from the withdrawal of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aditya Birla&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aditya Birla","link":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/category\/aditya-birla\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/Star-Health-Insurance-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/Star-Health-Insurance-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/Star-Health-Insurance-logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":222524,"url":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/2025\/12\/27\/the-insurance-industry-is-seeking-government-assistance-to-extend-input-tax-credit-itc-benefits-to-include-distribution-costs-and-renewals-according-to-the-ceo-of-aditya-birla-sun-life-insurance\/","url_meta":{"origin":222650,"position":1},"title":"The insurance industry is seeking government assistance to extend Input Tax Credit (ITC) benefits to include distribution costs and renewals, according to the CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance.","author":"Team Small News","date":"December 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The life insurance industry in India is planning to approach the government with new demands after the GST Council recently exempted individual life and health insurance policies from tax. The industry's primary request is to extend input tax credit (ITC) benefits to distribution costs and renewal premiums of past policies,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aditya Birla&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aditya Birla","link":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/category\/aditya-birla\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":222594,"url":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/2026\/01\/04\/from-commissions-to-care-ethealthworld\/","url_meta":{"origin":222650,"position":2},"title":"From Commissions to Care, ETHealthworld","author":"Team Small News","date":"January 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Indian health insurance industry is experiencing rapid growth, with increasing premiums and a rising number of policyholders. However, beneath the surface, there are concerns that the system is becoming inefficient and prioritizing profits over patient care. The Medical Loss Ratio (MLR), which measures the percentage of premiums spent on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Care&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Care","link":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/category\/care\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/Star-Health-Insurance-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/Star-Health-Insurance-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/Star-Health-Insurance-logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":222544,"url":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/2025\/12\/30\/on-october-8-2025-insurance-agents-and-associations-are-likely-to-raise-the-issue-of-goods-and-services-tax-gst-with-the-insurance-regulatory-and-development-authority-of-india-irdai-and-the-fin\/","url_meta":{"origin":222650,"position":3},"title":"On October 8, 2025, insurance agents and associations are likely to raise the issue of Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Finance Ministry.","author":"Team Small News","date":"December 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The insurance industry in India is facing a significant issue related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Input Tax Credit (ITC). Private insurers have reduced distributor payouts by 15-18% to offset the loss of ITC, following the GST exemption on life and health insurance premiums. This move is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aditya Birla&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aditya Birla","link":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/category\/aditya-birla\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":222734,"url":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/2026\/01\/25\/bombay-high-courts-stay-brings-gst-relief-to-over-a-dozen-insurers\/","url_meta":{"origin":222650,"position":4},"title":"Bombay High Court&#8217;s stay brings GST relief to over a dozen insurers","author":"Team Small News","date":"January 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bombay High Court has granted a temporary stay on a substantial demand and associated penalties by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities, providing relief to over a dozen insurance companies. The insurance companies, including Aditya Birla Health Insurance, Oriental Insurance, and ICICI Lombard General Insurance, among others, had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aditya Birla&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aditya Birla","link":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/category\/aditya-birla\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":222623,"url":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/2026\/01\/08\/100-foreign-direct-investment-fdi-and-reinsurance-relief-are-expected-to-bolster-indias-insurance-sector-fostering-growth-and-increasing-competitiveness\/","url_meta":{"origin":222650,"position":5},"title":"100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and reinsurance relief are expected to bolster India&#8217;s insurance sector, fostering growth, and increasing competitiveness.","author":"Team Small News","date":"January 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Indian insurance sector is poised for significant growth following the passage of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, by Parliament. The bill allows for 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance companies, up from the previous limit of 74%. This increase is expected to improve access to capital, support\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Insurance&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Insurance","link":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/category\/insurance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallnews.in\/insurance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}