India’s general insurance industry maintained steady growth in February 2026, with gross direct premiums rising 9.5% year on year to ₹238.5bn, as strong expansion in aviation, personal accident, and health lines offset weakness in select segments like fire and miscellaneous, according to data released by the General Insurance Council (GIC) of India, compiled and analysed by (Re)in Asia.
Following 14.3% year-on-year growth in January, February volumes remained on a clear long-term upward trajectory, more than doubling from ₹105.7bn in February 2018.
Most lines posted stable to positive growth, with aviation standing out as the fastest-growing segment. Premiums rose 42.35% year on year to ₹675.6m in February. The increase comes as tensions between Iran and Israel escalate. Airspace closures, missile activity and heightened terrorism risks have increased the potential for large aggregated losses, prompting insurers to raise rates and tighten underwriting conditions.
In India, airlines flying Gulf routes were reported to be facing additional war-risk premiums of 0.075% to 0.1% of aircraft value per return flight, potentially adding as much as ₹20,000 per passenger on narrow-body flights.
Marine lines also recorded moderate gains, with cargo premiums rising 10.6% and hull premiums up 4.7%, amid tightening marine war-risk conditions. Insurers have moved to reprice and reinstate cover at higher rates, although Moody’s said overall exposure remains manageable under its baseline scenario.
Personal accident also rebounded strongly, rising 29.4% year-on-year to ₹5.84bn, while health increased 27.25% year-on-year to ₹97.25bn, nearly quadrupling since February 2018. Engineering followed, rising 22% year-on-year to ₹5.23bn.
Motor delivered steady growth, with total premiums up 10.4% year-on-year to ₹94.1bn. Within this, own damage (OD) grew a stronger 14.5%, outpacing third-party (TP) at 9.3%.
In contrast, fire and miscellaneous segments declined sharply, falling 17% and 39.3% year on year, respectively. Miscellaneous premiums were dragged down by a sharp contraction at Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC), India’s largest crop insurer, which fell nearly 90% year on year this month. AIC’s premium trend remains highly volatile, with sharp month-to-month swings.
Health competition intensifies
In health, public sector insurers such as New India continue to dominate in scale, but specialised health players are becoming increasingly competitive.
Across the financial year to date, New India Assurance retained the top position in most months, while Star Health overtook the lead in August and February.
Niva Bupa showed noticeable improvement in ranking through the year, improving from 10th place in April 2025 to mostly mid-tier positions in the following months, before reaching 3rd in February 2026. Care Health remains consistently among the top health insurers in the middle ranks.
Aditya Birla Health, meanwhile, entered the top 10 again from August 2025 onward and has since maintained a consistent presence in the rankings.
Despite that, overall data beyond health shows the public sectors remain dominant. New India Assurance continued as the largest writer at ₹25.2bn, leading across multiple lines including aviation, fire, marine hull, and motor TP.
National Insurance stood out with the strongest expansion among the top 10, posting 22.6% year-on-year growth, largely driven by a sharp increase in its health portfolio, which rose over 68%, and supported by gains in smaller segments such as aviation (651%) and marine hull (35.8%).
United India and Oriental Insurance were the outliers, reporting flat to lower premiums.
Private insurers, including Tata AIG, ICICI Lombard, HDFC Ergo and SBI General, recorded strong double-digit growth.
ICICI Lombard, in particular, remained the second-largest insurer at ₹21.8bn in February, unchanged from its ranking in January. It led the industry in engineering, liability, marine cargo and motor OD.
Meanwhile, SBI General maintained leadership in select segments, topping the miscellaneous and personal accident lines with premiums of ₹2.65bn and ₹1.74bn, respectively, well ahead of peers.
Smaller and newer entrants remain leading in the growth rankings, with Kshema General Insurance and Galaxy Health posting triple-digit increases from a low base, alongside strong performances from digital and health-focused players such as Acko, Niva Bupa and Care Health.
