The health insurance segment in the country continues to witness steady growth on the back of growing healthcare costs and increasing penetration levels with total premium collection growing 15 per cent in 2014-15 year-on-year. During 2014-15, the gross health insurance premium collected by non-life insurance companies was Rs.20,096 crore compared with Rs.17,495 crore in 2013-14, recording an increase of 14.87 per cent, according to the latest annual report of IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India).
The four public sector general insurance companies – New India, United India, Oriental and National – accounted for a major share of health insurance premium at 64 per cent of total health segment. Stand-alone health insurers contributed 14 per cent. While there is a marginal increase in the share of public sector and stand-alone health insurers, there is a drop in the share of private non-life insurers whose market share has come down from 26 per cent in 2013-14 to 22 per cent in 2014-15.
Over the past five years, there is a marked increase in the share of individual health insurance premium in total health insurance premium collected- increasing from 35 per cent in 2010-11 to 44 per cent in 2014-15.
The share of group health insurance business (other than government business) in total health insurance premium has remained static at around 45 per cent. . About 24 per cent of India’s total population has been covered under one of the health insurance policies in 2014-15.
