Non-life insurance industry grows 16 per cent in April-December 2022

MUMBAI:  The non-life insurance industry has delivered a strong performance as it grew 16.2% in the first nine months of the current financial year compared to 11.2% in the same period last year, according to a report by Care Ratings. 

Health and motor insurance were the main drivers of growth, said the report. The gross direct premium underwritten reached Rs 1.87 lakh crore during the nine months of FY23, as against Rs 1.61 lakh crore in the same period in FY22. The non-life insurance industry continued to report double-digit growth in December 2022 after reporting near-flat growth in September 2022. The industry reached Rs 21,871.6 crore in December 2022, a 14.5% growth year-on-year.

“General Insurers’ December 2022 numbers were up by 13.5%, as against an increase of 4.2% in December 2021, while for year-to-date FY23, the growth driven by the group health and motor segments, has been nearly 1.7 times that was witnessed last year,” said the report.

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Standalone private health insurers continued their growth path as December 2022 numbers reached Rs 2,307.7 crore, up sequentially from Rs 2,026.3 crore in November 2022, and up from Rs 1,880.1 crore in December 2021. This monthly growth of 22.7% was significantly slower than the 41.9% reported in December 2021. Health insurance premiums have been the primary growth lever of the non-life insurance industry since the commencement of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has resulted in the segment increasing its market share from 29.1% for YTD FY21 to 35% for YTDFY23.