Page 14 - The Insurance Times August 2025

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Star Health Q1 FY26 Profit Slips 18 % as Underwrit- health insurance and only half hold any
life cover, according to the Insurance
ing Income Halves Brokers Association of India's report

Star Health and Allied Insurance reported a sharp year-on-year slide in earn- "Leading the Path to Insurance for All."
ings for the April-June quarter of FY-26. Profit after tax fell 17.7 % to Rs. The study warns that millions remain
262.5 crore from Rs. 318.9 crore a year earlier, even as gross written pre- financially exposed despite more than
mium edged up 3.7 % to Rs. 3,605 crore. 90 % of citizens owning bank accounts.
Rural and low-income households are
Underwriting profit almost halved to Rs. 71.7 crore (Rs. 140.3 crore a year most vulnerable: with barely 2 % of life-
ago) as claims costs and pricing adjustments weighed on margins. The in-
insurance branches located outside cit-
surer said its combined ratio stayed high but stable at 95.1 %. Managing
ies, access, affordability and awareness
Director & CEO Anand Roy noted that the company "remained prudent in remain major hurdles.
risk selection and implemented critical pricing and underwriting changes"
Key findings show average families
to protect profitability.
want life protection worth 8-10 × an-
On a sequential basis, Star Health swung from a token profit of Rs. 0.5 crore nual income, yet fewer than 10 %
in the March quarter to a healthier bottom line, helped by steady retail- achieve that level. The association
premium growth. Management reaffirmed double-digit premium-growth urges insurers and policymakers to ex-
guidance and tighter cost control for the rest of FY-26. pand branch networks, simplify prod-
ucts and intensify financial-literacy
Out-of-Pocket Health The reinsurer warns that rising non- drives to close the protection gap and
communicable diseases, costly private shield households from medical or in-
Spending Falls but Treat- care and limited OPD cover keep mil- come shocks.
ment Costs Still Heavy: lions at risk of "financial toxicity," with
17 % of households still pushed below
Swiss Re the poverty line after a major illness. NRIs Power Surge in
A new Swiss Re Institute study finds Swiss Re recommends expanding retail India's Medical Tourism,
that India's out-of-pocket (OOP) share health-insurance penetration, intro- Boost Health-Insurance
of total health expenditure fell from 64 ducing outpatient reimbursement
% in 2010 to 48 % in 2023-reflecting products and strengthening public-hos- Uptake
wider health-insurance uptake and pital infrastructure to ease the burden. India's medical-tourism sector is wit-
government schemes such as nessing robust growth, chiefly driven by
Ayushman Bharat. Yet absolute house- Only 2 in 5 Indians Have Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who are
hold medical bills remain steep: aver- Health Insurance, Rural flying home for elective and critical
age inpatient treatment now exceeds treatments. According to industry
Rs. 35,000 per episode in urban areas Gap Widest: IBAI Report data, the number of NRI medical trav-
and Rs. 26,000 in rural regions. Just 40 % of Indians are covered by ellers has risen sharply in the past year,

The Insurance Times August 2025 13