India's insurance sector: Growth to slow down; dragged by muted auto sales and weak corporate health renewal

The insurance industry is facing a noticeable slowdown, primarily dragged down by weak motor sales and a dip in corporate policy renewals, according to a recent research report by Nuvama.

The report indicated that overall industry growth is likely to remain subdued, driven majorly by a decline in vehicle sales and a reduction in the renewal of corporate insurance policies. However, the muted performance in the auto sector may be partially offset by the recent hike in third-party (TP) insurance premiums.

Nuvama also noted that large incumbent insurers could stand to gain from the stricter enforcement of the Expenses of Management (EoM) regulations recently implemented by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

“We expect slower industry growth largely due to a slowdown in motor sales...... Retail health expanded 9.8% YoY while group remained flat at -0.1% YoY dragged by lower corporate policy renewals,” the report said, quoted by ANI .

It also pointed out that retail policy growth was impacted by the one-nth (1/n) recognition model for long-term health policies, which tempered reported growth figures.

In the motor insurance segment, growth has clearly decelerated, attributed mainly to weak retail vehicle sales. The Gross Direct Premium Income (GDPI) in this category increased by 6.7% year-on-year in June 2025, a drop from the 8.2% YoY growth seen in May 2024.

Within motor insurance, third-party (TP) premiums grew by 8.1% YoY, while own damage (OD) insurance posted a more modest rise of 4.7% YoY.

Public sector general insurers, meanwhile, continued to aggressively capture market share, reaching 29.4% in Q1 FY26, an increase of 222 basis points from the previous year. In June 2025, their growth in the OD and TP segments stood at 4.7% and 18.8% YoY, respectively.

On the whole, the insurance industry’s GDPI growth remained sluggish in June 2025. While the fire insurance segment saw a notable upturn with 20.6% YoY growth, the health insurance segment recorded a moderate 3.3% YoY increase.

Excluding crop insurance, overall GDPI rose by 9.3% YoY. Within motor insurance, OD and TP premiums grew by 4.7% and 8.1% YoY, respectively.

The broader slowdown in the sector is largely being attributed to the slump in motor vehicle sales and a reduction in corporate renewals, though select categories such as fire insurance and TP motor insurance have shown signs of resilience.

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