Non-Life Insurers Record 10% Premium Growth In August As Health Cover Demand Surges

New Delhi: India’s non-life insurance industry recorded healthy premium growth in August, supported by rising demand for health coverage and a sharp increase in crop insurance enrolments.

Non-life insurance premiums increased 10% year-on-year to ₹27,455 crore in August, according to a CareEdge Ratings report.

During April–August FY27, premium growth accelerated to 9.6%, compared with 6% during the corresponding period last year. The improvement came as the negative impact from the fire and crop insurance segments reduced considerably.

Crop Insurance Premium Triples

Crop insurance premium jumped nearly threefold from July to ₹3,274 crore in August.

The increase was largely caused by several states extending the Kharif crop enrolment deadline beyond July 31. This shifted a significant portion of crop insurance business into August.

The combined drag from fire and crop insurance consequently narrowed to 4.2 percentage points from 11.1 percentage points previously.

Health Insurance Leads Growth

Health insurance remained the principal growth engine for the non-life insurance sector. Health premiums rose 18% year-on-year to ₹10,834 crore in August.

Although growth moderated from 26% in July, the segment recorded year-to-date expansion of 20.9%. Health insurance accounted for 39.5% of the total August premium and 44% of premiums collected during April–August FY27.

Retail health insurance grew 32.5%, maintaining growth above 30% for the fifth consecutive month. CareEdge said higher renewal rates, lower claims ratios and purchases by first-time insurance customers improved the quality of growth.

Motor Insurance Maintains Momentum

Motor insurance recorded double-digit growth for the fifth straight month. However, slower vehicle registrations restricted its pace compared with July.

Excluding the fire and crop segments, industry growth eased to 14.3% from nearly 17% in July. The moderation reflected weaker vehicle sales and uneven recognition of government health scheme premiums rather than soft retail demand.

Private insurers and standalone health insurers together captured 73.3% of the August premium—their highest share in FY27 so far. Retail health growth could moderate from late September because of GST-related base effects.