Star Health targets Rs 24,000cr GWP in FY27, shrugs off MTM volatility

Chennai: Star Health and Allied Insurance said it remains focused on long-term growth despite rising medical inflation and periodic mark-to-market volatility in its investment portfolio. The geopolitical tension-induced correction in the equity markets resulted in the standalone health insurer reporting mark-to-market losses of Rs 558 crore in Q4FY26, leading it to report a loss of Rs 55 crore during the period, compared with a profit of Rs 271 crore a year ago."Given the current market environment, it is difficult to predict what will happen in the near term. But we are long-term investors in terms of our investment portfolio. Around 15%-16% of the company's investment portfolio is allocated to equity and equity-linked instruments, including REITs, InvITs and ETFs. So we are not overly concerned about quarterly volatility," Anand Roy, MD & CEO of Star Health, told TOI. He added that the transition to IFRS-based reporting standards has increased the visibility of quarterly fluctuations, since equity market movements now flow directly through the profit-and-loss account. To help investors assess underlying performance, the company said it has begun providing a "normalised" equity return assumption of around 10%. Marking two decades of operations, Star Health will launch what it calls an affordable health insurance product, ‘Value Plus', on Wednesday. The product, which offers customisable high sum-insured covers ranging from Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, will be rolled out across India, excluding metro cities and state capitals. "Value Plus comes with premiums that are nearly 20% lower than the company's existing offerings in non-metro markets. We are not only a big-city player. Almost 50% of our business comes from smaller cities outside metros and state capitals," said Roy. The Chennai-headquartered company expects the ‘Value Plus' to contribute around 10% of its topline in FY27. It is targeting gross written premium (GWP) of about Rs 24,000 crore in FY27, compared with around Rs 20,400 crore in FY26, implying expected growth of about 18%.On pricing, Roy said the company continuously reviews product performance and takes pricing actions when loss ratios exceed internal thresholds. However, the company indicated that no immediate premium hikes are planned this quarter.