Star Health Insu

Star Health reported a robust Q4 FY26 with fresh retail growth of 38% YoY on an N basis, and overall GWP increasing 17% YoY to ₹6,259 crores. For the full fiscal year FY26, GWP grew 16% YoY to ₹20,369 crores, marking a significant milestone. Underwriting profit turned positive at ₹206 crores for FY26, a substantial improvement from a ₹165 crore loss in FY25. However, Q4 FY26 saw a reported loss of ₹55 crores due to a ₹558 crore marked-to-market loss from equity market volatility^🌐.

FY26 was a year of strategic recalibration, focusing on strengthening performance across distribution, underwriting discipline, claims management, customer experience, and operating efficiency. The company's strategy is anchored on a risk-first approach, consistent focus on ROE, customer-centric execution, and a digital-first mindset. This approach has led to progressive improvements in underlying metrics, with green shoots of operating turnaround becoming more pronounced.

Star Health maintained its leadership in the Retail Health segment with a market share of 31.3% in FY26. The proprietary distribution channels, including the agency channel and digital D2C, now contribute over 90% of the retail business. The company aims to expand its agent network to 1 million in the next two years, adding 1 lakh agents annually, and has seen agent productivity improve by 37% on fresh business and 18% overall.

The company demonstrated continuous loss ratio improvement for three successive quarters, with Q4 FY26 loss ratio at 65.2% (down from 69.2% in Q4 FY25). The retail loss ratio improved 3% YoY to 64.8% in Q4 FY26. This was driven by analytics-led pricing, strengthened underwriting, portfolio optimization towards preferred segments, and improvements in fraud, waste, and abuse management. The company expects to reprice almost 80% of its book between Q4 and Q1.

Significant technology investments are improving productivity and service outcomes, with digital embedded across the value chain. Acquisition and onboarding are 95% digitalized for fresh premiums. The customer app has over 14 million downloads and 1.5 million monthly active users, facilitating self-service for claims intimations and renewals. The retail claim settlement ratio increased by 3% to 92%, and the renewal ratio by 2% to 99% for the full year.

The Indian health insurance sector is experiencing structural growth, supported by policy interventions like GST exemption on Retail Health insurance, which has led to 94% new-to-insurance customers in H2 FY26. The company welcomes IRDAI's mandate on IND AS accounting standards from April 1, 2026, and is prepared for the transition. Star Health views the upcoming Bima Sugam platform as a positive initiative for affordable insurance and a unified service platform for consumers.

Management emphasized a focus on 'quality of growth' and building a sustainable franchise, targeting high-teen growth and mid-teen to high-teen ROEs, rather than solely pursuing market share. The new-to-insurance mix was 93% on fresh premium for FY26, reflecting a focus on profitable customer acquisition. The SME segment contributed 78% to the overall business in FY26, up from 58% in FY25, indicating a successful shift towards profitable segments.