The health insurance segment in the country continues to show robust growth with increasing penetration levels. Total premium has seen a growth of 17 per cent in 2012-13 when compared with the previous fiscal.
The total health insurance premium collected by non-life insurers in 2012-13 stood at Rs 15,701 crore when compared with Rs 13,469 crore in 2011-12. The high growth in the health insurance premium has largely been demand-driven so far.
The health premium underwritten by non-life insurers (excluding standalone health insurers) in 2012-13 stood at Rs 13,975 crore as against Rs 11,777 crore in the previous year.
“Health insurance continues to be one of the rapidly growing sectors. This segment of non-life insurance business has continued to grow at double digit figure for the past five years, although the growth rate has receded considerably from the high level witnessed during the period from 2006-07 to 2010-11,” pointed out latest annual report of IRDA (Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority).
The four public sector insurers continue to dominate the segment with their combined share in the total health insurance premium standing at 61 per cent.
Private insurers accounted for 28 per cent in the total premium, while the rest was accounted by four standalone health private insurers. Health insurance segment has grown at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 30.05 per cent during the past seven years and that is substantially higher than the CAGR (17.50 per cent) of gross domestic premium growth for the same period.
The high CAGR of health segment has led to a noticeable rise in its share in non-life premium. Health segment’s share stood at 22.19 per cent in 2012-13 up from 10.91 per cent in 2005-06.
