Underwriting losses incurred by India's non-life insurance's registered a sharp increase in 2025-26 surging from INR302.88bn ($3.17bn) in 2024-25 to INR452.79bn in 2025-26, recording a rise of around 50%.
According to a news report in the financial daily Business Standard, the gross direct premium income of non-life insurers, however, rose by almost 9% on a year-on-year basis to INR3.36tn in the year 2025-26 after the Goods & Services Tax (GST) rates were rationalised.
As per industry data, the four state-owned general insurers led the decline in underwriting results. The underwriting loss of public sector general insurers was nearly 58.3% higher year-on-year, up to INR290.7bn in the financial year 2025-26.
Among private general insurers, the cumulative underwriting loss in 2025-26 grew by 18.9% to register INR166.82bn compared to INR140.33bn in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, standalone health insurers posted 63% underwriting losses to INR266.68bn in 2025-26FY26 compared to INR163.52bn in 2024-25.
Among prominent standalone health insurers, Care Health Insurance Ltd posted the highest underwriting loss in 2025-26 at INR 6.60bn, representing a steep loss expansion of 101.3% per cent from INR3.28bn in 2024-25.