GIC appoints S. Prakash as CEO for health insurance ecosystem
General Insurance Council has appointed S. Prakash as Chief Executive Officer – Health Insurance Ecosystem and Strategic Partnerships, with effect from January 7, 2026. The appointment is aimed at strengthening coordination and standardisation across India’s health insurance value chain.
In his new role, Prakash will work closely with insurers, hospitals, regulators and other stakeholders to improve transparency, operational efficiency and trust within the health insurance ecosystem. His mandate includes driving standardisation of treatment protocols and care pathways, strengthening frameworks to curb fraud, waste and abuse, and enabling smoother grievance resolution through a common industry-wide redressal mechanism. He will also support collaboration between payers and providers, including adoption of common hospital empanelment processes and cost benchmarks.
The council said Prakash will play an important role in shaping industry norms for incorporating advancements in medical science into insurance products, ensuring innovation aligns with patient outcomes, affordability and sustainable insurance practices. A seasoned medical professional, Prakash brings over three decades of experience spanning clinical practice and health insurance, including nearly 18 years in leadership roles within the sector.
Commenting on the appointment, Tapan Singhel, Chairman of the General Insurance Council, said the role focuses on reducing friction, building trust and leveraging shared digital platforms such as NHCX to make health insurance simpler and more dependable.
Non-life insurers’ premium income rises 8.6% in December
Premium income of India’s non-life insurance industry rose 8.62 per cent year-on-year in December 2025 to Rs 28,446.82 crore, supported by the rationalisation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on health insurance premiums, according to data released by the General Insurance Council.
During the April–December period of FY26, non-life insurers collected Rs 2.50 trillion in premiums, registering a 13.7 per cent year-on-year growth. General insurers accounted for Rs 2.10 trillion of this amount, growing 7.4 per cent, while standalone health insurers recorded a stronger growth of 17.12 per cent to Rs 31,286.97 crore. Premiums of specialised insurers increased 10.06 per cent year-on-year to Rs 9,001.21 crore.
In December alone, general insurers reported 14.81 per cent growth to Rs 23,747.78 crore, while standalone health insurers posted a sharp 38.81 per cent rise to Rs 4,260.10 crore. In contrast, specialised public sector insurers saw a steep 65.43 per cent decline in premiums to Rs 438 crore.
Among major players, New India Assurance reported 16.6 per cent growth, ICICI Lombard grew 16.09 per cent, and National Insurance recorded nearly 37 per cent growth, reflecting uneven performance across the segment.
Rajasthan assures quick disposal of crop insurance claims
The Rajasthan government has assured speedy settlement of pending crop insurance claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), following protests by farmers in parts of the state over delays in payouts.
According to reports, insurance companies have unpaid crop insurance claims amounting to nearly Rs 950 crore in Rajasthan. Taking serious note of the grievances raised by farmer organisations, Agriculture Minister Kirori Lal Meena reviewed the status of long-pending claims across districts and instructed officials to ensure their early resolution.
The minister directed departmental authorities to seek explanations from the insurance companies concerned and take swift action to clear outstanding cases. He assured farmers that the state government was committed to safeguarding their interests and ensuring timely claim settlements under the scheme.
The directions were issued after interactions with representatives of various farmer associations in Jaipur. Discussions covered issues related to agriculture and horticulture schemes, including crop insurance, farmer input subsidies, and recent legislative initiatives such as the new Seed Bill and the Pesticides Management Bill.
The state government’s intervention comes amid rising concerns that delays in claim settlements are affecting farmers’ liquidity and preparedness for subsequent cropping seasons, particularly in regions impacted by adverse weather conditions. Officials said closer monitoring of insurers’ performance under PMFBY would continue to prevent prolonged delays in future.
India’s insurance market to grow at 6.9% CAGR during 2026–30: Swiss Re
India’s insurance market is expected to grow at a real compound annual growth rate of 6.9 per cent between 2026 and 2030, outpacing both emerging and advanced markets, according to a report by Swiss Re.
Releasing its outlook on India’s economy and insurance sector, the Zurich-based reinsurer said growth would be supported by resilient economic expansion, rising risk awareness and supportive regulatory reforms. By comparison, the Chinese insurance market is projected to grow at around 4 per cent and the US market at about 2 per cent over the same period.
Swiss Re highlighted recent reforms, including the increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) limits to 100 per cent, permission for mergers between life and non-life insurers, and lower capital requirements for foreign reinsurance branches, as key growth drivers. Life insurance premiums are expected to rise 3.4 per cent in calendar year 2025 and 3.5 per cent in 2026, before accelerating to 6.8 per cent annually during 2026–30.
The exemption of individual life insurance premiums from GST is expected to improve affordability across term, savings and unit-linked products. For non-life insurance, premiums are projected to grow 2.2 per cent in 2025, 4.1 per cent in 2026, and 7.3 per cent annually over 2026–30, all in real terms adjusted for inflation.
Ease of business: Digit Insurance to absorb holding company
Go Digit General Insurance has approved a scheme to merge its unlisted holding company, Go Digit Infoworks Services, with the listed insurer, marking the first such transaction following amendments to India’s insurance laws that permit mergers between insurance companies and non-insurance holding entities.
In an exchange filing, the insurer said its board approved the scheme of amalgamation under Sections 230 to 232 of the Companies Act, subject to approvals from shareholders, creditors and regulators, including Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, stock exchanges and the National Company Law Tribunal.
The merger will eliminate the holding company layer, directly aligning shareholders with the insurance business. The insurer said this would reduce compliance and administrative costs and aligns with the regulatory intent of leaner holding structures.
No cash consideration is involved. Shareholders of the holding company will receive equity shares of the insurer at an issue price of Rs 375.1 per share, based on an approved exchange ratio. Post-merger, promoter shareholding will rise marginally to 72.2 per cent.
Global reinsurers from Spain, UK and Singapore line up for GIFT City entry
Several global reinsurance firms from Spain, the UK and Singapore have applied to enter India’s International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City, reflecting growing international confidence in the country’s reinsurance ecosystem under the International Financial Services Centres Authority.
Madrid-based Mapfre Re has applied to register as an Insurance Office (IIO) to undertake reinsurance business from GIFT City under the IFSCA (Registration of Insurance Business) Regulations, 2021. Mapfre Re is the global reinsurance arm of the MAPFRE Group and operates across more than 100 countries.
London-based C&C Insurance Group has also filed an application through its IFSC entity, C&C RE IFSC Private Limited, seeking approval to operate as a reinsurance IIO. In addition, Singapore-headquartered Partner Reinsurance Asia Pte Ltd, the regional arm of PartnerRe, has submitted an application to undertake reinsurance business from the IFSC.
IFSCA regulations allow foreign insurers and reinsurers to write offshore insurance and reinsurance business in foreign currency from India. The regulator has been positioning GIFT City as a competitive alternative to hubs such as Singapore, London and Dubai.
Insurers to move away from one-size-fits-all models under new capital, accounting norms
Insurers in India are expected to adopt more disciplined underwriting and pricing strategies as the insurance regulator transitions to risk-based capital (RBC) norms and implements IFRS 17 (Ind AS 117) from April 2026, fundamentally reshaping capital allocation and revenue recognition across the sector.
Under the new RBC framework cleared by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, insurers will be required to hold capital in proportion to the actual risks on their balance sheets, replacing the earlier flat solvency approach. Riskier portfolios such as long-term guarantees, catastrophe-exposed property and volatile claims businesses will attract higher capital charges, while conservative and well-reinsured books will require less capital.
Simultaneously, IFRS 17 will change how insurers report revenue and profits by recognising income over the life of a policy instead of booking premiums upfront. Industry executives said this would make persistent under-pricing and loss-making products harder to mask.
The impact will vary across segments. Life insurers are expected to reassess guaranteed products, general insurers may tighten pricing in long-tail and catastrophe-prone lines, and health insurers are likely to focus more on retail products, cost controls and claims management. Overall, risk, capital discipline and transparency are set to become central to strategic decision-making.
SBI General to sharpen focus on health, motor insurance via bancassurance
SBI General Insurance plans to further strengthen its bancassurance and corporate distribution channels, with a sharper focus on health and motor insurance, according to Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Naveen Chandra Jha. The company sees significant headroom for growth in these segments and aims to leverage its strong banking partnerships to deepen penetration.
As part of this strategy, the insurer is designing products to address unmet customer needs. It recently launched the Health Alpha – Senior plan and has also rolled out a comprehensive cyber insurance product covering risks such as online theft and password-related frauds. Following the GST waiver, SBI General was among the first insurers to introduce a customisable health insurance offering under the Health Alpha brand.
On a year-to-date basis, the company’s retail health portfolio has grown by around 40–45 per cent, while overall growth is running at nearly twice the industry average. SBI General has gained market share across health, motor and personal accident insurance, and is also recording strong growth in corporate lines such as commercial fire. The insurer is simultaneously investing in service quality across claims, policy issuance and endorsements, with a focus on profitable growth and customer experience.
Overseas travel insurance uptake nearly doubles post-pandemic
Overseas travel insurance has shifted from being an optional add-on to a near-essential purchase for Indian outbound travellers, with coverage nearly doubling over the past six years amid rising medical costs abroad and heightened awareness of travel disruptions.
According to the annual report of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, around 96.7 lakh lives were covered under 27.9 lakh overseas travel insurance policies during 2024–25, generating gross premium income of Rs 1,267 crore. This represents a 91 per cent increase in lives covered compared with 2018–19, while premium income rose 67.4 per cent over the same period. The market share of private general insurers increased to 84 per cent in FY25 from 81 per cent in FY19.
Industry executives attribute the growth to a lasting behavioural shift triggered by the pandemic. Rising healthcare costs overseas, flight disruptions and visa-linked insurance requirements for destinations such as Schengen countries have reinforced demand. Data from the Ministry of Tourism shows that Indian outbound departures rose to over 3 crore in 2024, underlining the strong revival in international travel and the steady expansion of travel insurance adoption across leisure, business and senior traveller segments.
