Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited is India's first standalone health insurance provider, having established a dominant leadership position within the retail health insurance segment. The company operates with a singular focus on health-related insurance products, including indemnity policies, personal accident coverage, and overseas travel insurance. Its business model is built upon a multi-channel distribution strategy, but its core strength lies in an expansive and unparalleled agency network, which is the primary driver of its business. This physical network is complemented by a "Digital First" approach, leveraging technology to enhance customer acquisition, policy servicing, and claims processing. The company prides itself on strong operational efficiencies and best-in-class claims management, with a significant portion of claims being handled in-house and a focus on speedy, cashless settlements through its network of hospitals. By concentrating on the retail segment, Star Health has cultivated deep expertise and a strong brand recall, positioning itself as a specialist in meeting the diverse health insurance needs of the Indian population.

Official Website: http://www.starhealth.in

• Gross Written Premium (GWP): For the nine months ended December 31, 2025 (9M FY26), GWP (without 1/n) stood at ₹13,856 crores, a significant 16% increase from ₹11,947 crores in 9M FY25. This demonstrates robust top-line growth.

• Profit After Tax (PAT): The company reported a PAT of ₹966 crores in 9M FY26, an 87% year-over-year increase from ₹516 crores in 9M FY25. This sharp rise in profitability indicates strong operational leverage and underwriting performance.

• Combined Ratio (IND AS): The combined ratio improved to 99.8% in 9M FY26 from 102.1% in 9M FY25. Crossing below the 100% threshold signifies that the company has achieved underwriting profitability, meaning its collected premiums are sufficient to cover claims and operating expenses.

• Expense Ratio (IND AS): The expense ratio saw an improvement, decreasing to 29.8% in 9M FY26 from 30.8% in the prior year period. This reflects better cost management and operational efficiency.

• Loss Ratio (IND AS): The loss ratio stood at 70.0% in 9M FY26, a notable improvement from 71.2% in 9M FY25, indicating better claims management relative to premiums earned.

• Investment Performance: Investment income for 9M FY26 was ₹1,320 crores, a substantial 39% increase from ₹950 crores in 9M FY25. The annualized investment yield also improved significantly to 9.6% from 7.9% in the same period last year.

• Return on Equity (ROE): The non-annualized ROE for 9M FY26 was 10.6%, a strong recovery from 6.4% in 9M FY25, driven by the surge in profitability.

The company has demonstrated a strong financial turnaround, marked by robust premium growth, a significant jump in profitability, and a return to underwriting profitability.

• Retail Health Specialist: Star Health operates with a dedicated focus on the retail health insurance segment. This specialization allows for deep product expertise and brand building. In 9M FY26, retail policies contributed 95% of the fresh GWP.

• Unparalleled Agency Network: The company's primary strength is its vast and growing agency network. The total agency force reached 819,000 in 9M FY26. This extensive physical presence across the country is a significant competitive advantage for sourcing retail policies.

• Digital-First Operations: Despite its large physical network, the company has heavily integrated technology. 94% of policies are sourced digitally, 76% of premiums are collected digitally, and 74% of renewals occur without human intervention. The customer app has over 13 million downloads.

• In-House Claims Management: Star Health manages a majority of its claims processing in-house, which provides greater control over costs and customer experience. This is evidenced by initiatives like achieving cashless claim settlement in under 3 hours for a majority of claims and having 78% of cashless claims from Agreed Network Hospitals (ANH) where pricing is pre-negotiated.

The company's unique model combines a dominant, specialized retail focus with a vast physical agency network that is powered by efficient, digital-first operational processes.

• Market Leadership: Star Health is the clear leader in the Indian retail health insurance market. As of 9M FY26, the company held a 31% market share in this segment.

• Sustained Dominance: While the market share has slightly moderated from 33% in FY24, the company continues to hold a commanding position, approximately one-third of the entire retail health market.

• Retail Premium Growth: The company's Gross Written Premium from the retail segment grew 20% year-over-year to ₹13,170 crores in 9M FY26, indicating strong demand and successful market penetration in its core segment.

Star Health maintains a dominant leadership position in the retail health insurance sector, commanding nearly a third of the market.

• Agency Channel: This remains the core growth engine, contributing 83% of GWP. The channel saw a 19% overall GWP growth and a 6% growth in fresh new policies (NOP) in 9M FY26. The productivity per agent has also increased by 8% year-over-year.

• Digital Channel: This is the fastest-growing channel. Fresh GWP from Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) and digital partnerships accelerated by 46% in 9M FY26 compared to the prior year period. This growth is driven by a 91% increase in organic traffic and a 98% growth in fresh NOPs from new-to-insurance customers.

• Bancassurance Channel: This channel has shown weakness, with fresh GWP declining by 8% in 9M FY26. However, the company is expanding its partnerships, with the number of Banca partners increasing to 78 from 71 in FY25.

• Increasing Sum Insured: The average sum insured per policy is increasing, reflecting a trend of customers opting for higher coverage. For fresh policies, the average sum insured grew by 20% in 9M FY26 compared to 9M FY25, indicating an opportunity for higher premium per policy.

Growth is primarily fueled by the strong performance of its core agency channel and the rapid acceleration of its digital channels, although the bancassurance segment is lagging.

• Combined Ratio Improvement: The most critical metric, the Combined Ratio (IND AS), improved to 99.8% in 9M FY26 from 102.1% in 9M FY25. This shift to sub-100% indicates that the core insurance business is now profitable on an underwriting basis.

• Controlled Loss Ratio: The Net Incurred Loss Ratio for the overall business improved to 70.0% in 9M FY26. The retail segment, which is the company's focus, reported a stable loss ratio of 69.4%. In contrast, the group business has a much higher loss ratio of 80.6%, highlighting the superior profitability of the retail book.

• Expense Efficiency: The Expense Ratio (IND AS) improved by 100 basis points to 29.8% in 9M FY26. This demonstrates the company's ability to manage acquisition and operational costs effectively even as it grows its premium base.

The company has successfully improved its margins, achieving underwriting profitability driven by better claims control and enhanced expense efficiencies.

• Market Share: Star Health holds a dominant 31% market share in the retail health segment as of 9M FY26, solidifying its leadership position.

• Customer Service Benchmark: The company exhibits superior customer service metrics compared to the broader Standalone Health Insurers (SAHI) category. In H1 FY26, Star Health reported 22 grievances per 10,000 policies, significantly lower than the SAHI average of 34.

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): The company maintains a high overall NPS of 64 and a claims NPS of 64 as of December 2025, indicating strong customer satisfaction and loyalty, which is a key competitive differentiator.

Star Health leads its competitors not only in market share but also in key customer service metrics, suggesting a strong and defensible competitive position.

• Group Business Profitability: The group insurance segment carries a significantly higher incurred claims ratio (80.6% in 9M FY26) compared to the retail segment (69.4%). An uncontrolled expansion of this less profitable segment could negatively impact overall margins.

• Bancassurance Channel Contraction: The 8% year-over-year decline in fresh GWP from the bancassurance channel represents a headwind. Failure to reverse this trend could limit a key diversification and growth avenue.

• Market Share Moderation: While still the leader, the company's retail market share has seen a slight decline from 33% in FY24 to 31% in 9M FY26. This could indicate rising competitive intensity in its core market.

Potential risks include the poor profitability of the group business, a contracting bancassurance channel, and a slight moderation in its dominant market share.

• Customer Centricity: The renewal ratio remains strong at 99% in 9M FY26. The company covered 1.7 crore lives during this period.

• Wellness Initiatives: Star Health is actively promoting preventive care. It saw a 55% increase in customers opting for Preventive Health Checkups and a 31% rise in post-discharge care services in 9M FY26. These initiatives are designed to improve customer health outcomes and potentially lower long-term claim costs.

• Claims Processing Efficiency: The company continues to excel in claims settlement. 78% of all claims are processed on a cashless basis. Further, a high proportion (80%) of these cashless claims are settled via Agreed Network Hospitals, which allows for better cost control.

• ESG Recognition: Star Health was recognized as India's most sustainable insurance company in the 2024 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, with a score of 48. This highlights a strong focus on environmental, social, and governance factors, including having 22% women on its board and 29% women in its workforce.

The company is making significant strides in customer-centric wellness programs, enhancing claims efficiency, and has achieved notable recognition for its ESG practices.