Star Health reports strong H1 FY26 growth, profitability improvement

Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited reported a gross written premium of Rs. 8,809 crore for H1 FY2026, marking a 12% year-on-year growth. The retail health gross written premium increased by nearly 17% to Rs. 8,332 crore, fueled by a 24% growth in fresh retail premiums and a 98% renewal persistency on value. The company's net incurred claim ratio for H1 FY2026 stood at 70.6%, a 30 basis points decrease from H1 FY2025, while for Q2 FY2026, it was 71.8% versus 73.7% in Q2 FY2025, a 190 basis points decrease. Operating costs were further reduced, with the expense ratio improving to 29.7% from 31.1% in the previous H1 FY2025.

The company achieved a profit after tax of Rs. 518 crore for H1 FY2026, a 21% year-on-year increase from H1 FY2025. This was supported by an investment income of Rs. 752 crore, with the investment book yielding 8.3%. The overall combined ratio on an IFRS basis for H1 FY2026 was 100.3%, a decrease of 170 basis points from the prior year. Underwriting loss reduced to Rs. 27 crore in H1 FY2026 compared to Rs. 149 crore in H1 FY2025.

Star Health maintained its retail health market share at 32% and saw its overall policy count grow by 3%. The agency channel contributed 83% of total business with 16% YoY growth, while the digital channel, the fastest-growing, saw 47% fresh premium growth and contributed nearly 20% of overall fresh business. The company also noted a significant uptick in demand post-GST waiver on retail health indemnity policies, with October reflecting almost 50% growth in fresh business.