Star Health Insurance sees 50% increase in demand for new policies after GST cut on health insurance

Anand Roy, MD and CEO, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd, at the launch of Arogya Seva Kendras in Chennai | Photo credit: BIJOY GHOSH

The standalone health insurer has seen a 50 percent growth in new customer demand since October last year, said Anand Roy, MD & CEO, Star Health Insurance Company Ltd.

In addition to the growth in new customers, the benefits have also impacted existing customers, with renewal retention improving from 86 to 88 percent over the same period. Roy added that customers are using the benefits for higher coverage instead of reducing premiums, and the average sum assured for the new policy has increased by 25 percent from ₹9 lakh to ₹11 lakh.

“By zeroing out the GST, the government is now equating health insurance with essential goods. We believe this is a permanent structural change and will continue to drive demand further,” he said

In terms of business growth, Roy said Star Health Insurance’s revenue for this financial year (FY26) was around ₹17,800 crore as of January 2026 and the company is confident of achieving its target of ₹20,000 crore for FY26. Looking ahead, the company expects revenues of ₹30,000 crore in FY28.

The company’s focus is on increasing insurance penetration and acquiring new insurance customers, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions. More than 90 percent of the customers are starters and switching customers is not part of the strategy, says Roy.

On policy pricing, he said about 65 percent of the company’s products saw price increases last year due to healthcare inflation.

“We [Insurance] are a very tightly regulated sector, while healthcare seems completely unregulated in terms of prices. So this is a consistent problem that we face. That said, insurance penetration needs to increase by keeping products affordable and that is why we are anticipating higher increases,” he said.

Roy was speaking to mediapersons at the launch of Arogya Seva Kendras (ASK), free primary healthcare centers as part of the CSR initiative. The ASK clinics, being implemented in collaboration with Piramal Swasthya, will help screen non-communicable diseases and provide medicines to an expected 10 lakh beneficiaries across 32 centers across nine states.

Published on February 23, 2026