Latest news with #InsuranceRegulatoryandDevelopmentAuthorityofIndia
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Business Standard
4 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Star Health Insurance Q1 results: Profit falls 18% to ₹263 crore
Star Health and Allied Insurance on Tuesday reported an 18 per cent decline in net profit to ₹263 crore during the June quarter. The standalone health insurer posted a net profit of ₹319 crore during the April-June period of 2024-25. The company's total income during the June quarter rose to ₹4,116 crore against₹ 3,692 crore in the year-ago period, Star Health said in a regulatory filing. Gross written premium increased to₹ 3,605 crore during the quarter under review compared to ₹3,476 crore in the same period a year ago. Last week, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India imposed a penalty of ₹3.39 crore and issued a warning to Star Health and Allied Insurance Company for violations under Irdai Information & Cyber Security Guidelines, 2023. The standalone insurer was in the spotlight last year after it came under a cyberattack in which personal data of customers got breached. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Business Standard
18 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
How India's health insurance sector is undergoing a profound shift
India's health insurance sector is undergoing a quiet yet profound shift. While headlines often highlight premium growth, digital penetration, and customer acquisition, a deeper transformation is taking place. This change is reshaping how insurers measure performance, manage risk, and build trust with investors. The timing of this transformation is critical. The industry has matured in size and ambition, but the frameworks used to report financial performance have long needed an upgrade. Now, with regulatory backing and growing market expectations, we're seeing meaningful progress toward greater transparency and long-term sustainability. From an investor's lens, this is not just about ticking compliance boxes. These changes restore alignment between how insurance businesses operate and how their performance is assessed by shareholders, analysts, regulators, and policyholders. Health insurance is right at the centre of this reset. IFRS Transition: A Step Toward Global Standards The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has set a roadmap for adopting IFRS accounting standards by FY27. This marks a fundamental change in how insurers recognise revenue and report profitability. Instead of front-loading income based on when a premium is collected, IFRS encourages recognising it over the actual service period. Metrics like Return on Equity (RoE) and Net Earned Premium (NEP) become far more reflective of underlying business health. For investors, this improves the quality and predictability of earnings. For global allocators and analysts, it brings Indian insurers in line with international peers. Insurers like Star Health, Niva Bupa, and Go Digit are already making strides in this direction. Their early adoption sends a strong message about maturity and intent. Premium Recognition: Creating a Truer Picture The way insurers book premiums also matters more than most realise. The older 50 per cent method, where half the premium was recognised upfront, often gave a skewed view of earnings in the early policy cycle. The shift to the 1/365 method, where revenue is spread evenly across the policy term, is a welcome correction. It smooths volatility and gives a clearer sense of actual business performance. Investors get better earnings visibility, analysts gain accuracy, and regulators receive cleaner capital adequacy data. This is one of those technical changes that quietly delivers a big upgrade in reporting quality. It's also telling that several insurers are choosing to implement it ahead of regulatory mandates. That signals stronger governance and a long-term mind set. Several insurers are implementing this ahead of mandate, signalling stronger governance and long-term thinking. Long-Term Policy Accounting: Moving Toward Realism Another important change came into effect from October 1, 2024. Insurers selling long-term policies will no longer be able to recognise the entire premium in year one. Instead, they'll need to book it year by year. While it may soften short-term numbers, it enhances realism over time. Investors benefit from cleaner revenue arcs. Regulators gain a more accurate view of solvency. Policyholders can trust that revenue aligns with service delivery providing a meaningful step toward sustainable reporting practices. Expense of Management: Driving Operational Discipline Under the new norms, Expense of Management (EoM) is capped at 35 per cent for standalone health insurers and 30 per cent for others. This pushes companies to relook at cost-heavy distribution models and embrace scalable, tech-led operations. For investors, EoM is now a key indicator of maturity. It shows how responsibly an insurer is scaling. For policyholders, more efficient companies are better positioned to reinvest in service and pricing. Composite Licensing: A Blueprint for the Future Irdai's proposal to allow composite licensing, enabling insurers to offer life, health, and general insurance under one entity, could be transformative. It opens the door to integrated offerings and seamless customer journeys. Insurers can cross-sell more effectively and simplify distribution. Investors benefit from diversified product portfolios and resilient balance sheets. Regulators can oversee operations more holistically. Customers enjoy a better experience from one insurer instead of three. For digital-first insurers or those with strong bancassurance networks, this could unlock the next wave of growth. Where This Is All Heading These changes reflect a genuine effort to modernise the ecosystem. Financial statements will become cleaner. Revenue recognition will become more honest. Cost structures will be managed better and the insurers that adapt early will stand out. As a fund house, we're encouraged by this direction. We seek businesses that deliver growth with governance, transparency, and foresight. The changes underway today are laying the foundation for the next decade of sustainable expansion. The sector is evolving. And in that evolution lies the real opportunity, not just for investors, but for everyone connected to the industry.
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Business Standard
a day ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Go Digit Q1FY26 results: Profit up 37% at ₹138 crore on premium growth
Go Digit General Insurance on Monday posted a 36.63 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in net profit to Rs 138 crore in the first quarter of FY26 (Q1FY26) from Rs 101 crore in the year-ago period. Gross premium written (GWP) of the general insurer grew by 12.1 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,982 crore. Without considering the 1/N change in accounting norms, the premium stood at Rs 3,046 crore, 14.5 per cent higher than the same quarter last year. The net earned premium was Rs 1,865 crore in Q1FY26, rising marginally from Rs 1,824 crore in Q1FY25. The investment income of the insurer rose to Rs 372 crore from Rs 281 crore during the period. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) changed the format for reporting premium figures, directing non-life insurance companies to report long-term premiums on the basis of 1/N, where N is the number of days of the policy. The norms became effective from 1 October 2024. The combined ratio of Go Digit General Insurance stood at 108.6 per cent in Q1FY26, as against 105.4 per cent in Q1FY25. The loss ratio of the general insurer stood at 70.3 per cent, compared to 70.5 per cent in the same period last year. The solvency ratio of the general insurer stood at 227 per cent, above the regulatory mandate of 150 per cent in the reported quarter. It was 217 per cent in Q1FY25.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
New IRDAI chairman, private banks' retail loan growth, hiring at major commercial banks & more
The Centre has appointed Ajay Seth, recently retired finance secretary, as the new chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, 4 months after the position was left vacant. He'll serve for 3 years or until he turns 65, whichever comes first. Retail loan growth at private banks slowed down in Q1 of FY26, with the top 5 lenders showing single-digit growth. Hiring at major commercial banks dropped in FY25 due to slower retail business growth, fewer new branches, and improved attrition rates thanks to better employee engagement. SBI is aiming high. It wants to be among the world's top 10 banks by market value in the next five years, said chairman CS Setty after its latest Qualified Institutional Placement share listing on the NSE. India's net FDI saw a major dip in May 2025, down 98% to just $40 million, mainly due to higher repatriation and more outward investments by Indian firms.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
IRDAI imposes ₹3.39 cr penalty on Star Health Insurance
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has imposed a penalty of ₹3.39 crore and issued a warning to Star Health and Allied Insurance Company for violations under IRDAI Information & Cyber Security Guidelines, 2023. The regulator, however, did not elaborate on the violations in its July 25th communication. On Saturday (July 26, 2025), intimating the stock exchange of the action, Star Health said the penalty has been levied with respect to certain aspects pertaining to safeguard of data and cyber security. It said the financial impact is restricted to the penalty amount and no impact is expected on the operation or other activities of the company. The options available for addressing the matter are being evaluated, including appealing against the order of IRDAI to SAT. The standalone insurer was in the spotlight last year after it came under a cyber attack in which personal data of customers got breached. The company's leadership had in October confirmed the cyber attack and pointed to how it responded swiftly and decisively. In the wake of the attack it was working very closely with cyber security experts, regulatory and law enforcement authority to thoroughly investigate the breach. It had also succeeded in taking down the data exposed, a senior executive said. The insurer said it was fortifying its systems with advanced security measures and controls to prevent any future incidents.
