Mumbai: Niva Bupa Health Insurance reported an 89.3% rise in Q4FY26 net profit under IFRS accounting standards, reaching Rs 157.8 crore from Rs 83.4 crore a year earlier. Gross written premium grew 30.4% to Rs 3,123.4 crore. The improvement was aided by lower operating costs, higher investment income, stronger retail health premium growth, and improving underwriting metrics.
Improved Efficiency Drives Profitability
The insurer stated that improved profitability reflected greater efficiency as the combined insurance service ratio improved. The combined insurance service ratio (claims and expenses to total premium) improved to 97.4% from 102% a year earlier. This was despite the ratio of claims to premium increasing to 94.5% from 93.2% a year earlier. Vishwanath Mahendra, chief financial officer of Niva Bupa Health Insurance, explained, "The improvement in combined ratio was entirely driven by reduction in expense ratio to the tune of 270 basis points from 39.2% in FY25 to 36.5% in FY26." He added that this was driven by economies of scale and investments made in technology, analytics, and artificial intelligence.
Digital Transformation and Retail Growth
The company had automated large parts of its operations, with all new policies sourced through digital channels such as apps and websites, and 32.1% of cashless claims now being auto-adjudicated. Retail health remained the main growth driver. Retail health gross written premium rose 35% in FY26 to Rs 6,581.5 crore, while retail market share expanded to 10.1% from 9.4% in FY25. In Q4FY26, retail health market share rose to 10.4% from 9% a year earlier.
Affordability and Product Customization
According to Mahendra, there was a clear link between affordability and growth in health insurance, as seen in the surge in sales following the removal of GST on health insurance. He noted that while medical inflation was a reality, the key was in product design to cater to different segments. "The same product can be customized for affluent customers in metros and in smaller centres where the cost of treatment is lower. We can have some riders, some product features where we can make the same product affordable by having deductible, by having co-insurance or limited network," said Mahendra.
Full-Year Performance Highlights
For FY26, gross written premium grew 27.4% to Rs 9,432.9 crore from Rs 7,406.7 crore in FY25, while annual profit after tax under IFRS rose 80.4% to Rs 366.1 crore from Rs 202.9 crore. The combined ratio improved by 160 basis points to 101.4%, while return on average net worth increased to 10.7% from 7.4%. Investment income also supported earnings growth. Total investment income increased to Rs 613.1 crore in FY26 from Rs 475.8 crore in FY25, aided by growth in assets under management over the last few years.
