Insurance premiums log FY26’s biggest jump in November as GST exemption lifts demand

Insurance

The insurance sector saw its highest monthly premium collections of FY26 in November, with life insurers reporting nearly 23 percent year-on-year growth and non-life insurers expanding by about 24 percent, as GST removal fuelled demand.

According to provisional data from the Life Insurance Council and the General Insurance Council, life insurers reported Rs 31,119.6 crore worth of premiums in November, while non-life insurers recorded Rs 26,897.4 crore.

Premium growth for life insurers was accompanied by a significant increase in policy issuances. Insurers sold approximately 2.2 million policies in the month, a 48.44 percent jump from the year-ago period.

The sharp rise in policy count underscores that the surge in premiums is not merely the result of higher-value purchases but the outcome of a larger number of customers entering the insurance ecosystem.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) drove the surge, reporting a 35 percent YoY rise in new business premium (NBP) to Rs 15,869.71 crore.

Private sector insurers expanded at a more measured pace with a 12.5 percent increase, collectively generating Rs 15,249.93 crore in premiums.

Among private-sector insurers, SBI Life led the individual premium segment, collecting Rs 1,938.72 crore in individual non-single premiums, followed by HDFC Life at Rs 1,032.43 crore, Max Life at Rs 731.53 crore, Tata AIA Life at Rs 660.34 crore and ICICI Prudential at Rs 632.85 crore.

In the individual single-premium category as well, SBI Life topped the list with Rs 868.53 crore ahead of HDFC Life’s Rs 346.12 crore and ICICI Prudential’s Rs 167.61 crore, making it the strongest private player across both retail premium lines during the month.

November’s premium expansion in the non-life segment was led by strong performances from Bajaj General, Tata AIG, New India Assurance and SBI General, all of which posted double-digit growth.

Bajaj General reported one of the sharpest jumps, with premiums rising over 193 percent, while Tata AIG and SBI General grew 25.9 percent and 35.4 percent, respectively.

New India Assurance contributed with an 10.8 percent increase.

Health and motor, which are the two largest lines of business, continued to anchor overall performance.

Despite November’s exceptional numbers, the cumulative data for the fiscal year offers a more tempered picture.

In the April-November period, life insurers’ NBP grew 9.8 percent from the year-ago period. Non-life insurers reported 8.01 percent growth. These trends indicate that the GST rollback acted as a strong catalyst for the November surge, but underlying growth through the fiscal year has been more gradual.

From September 22, GST on individual and health insurance was slashed from 18 percent to 0 percent in India, making policies cheaper by removing the tax on premiums.