Star Health, the country’s largest standalone health insurer, reported a sharp rise in fourth-quarter net profit at ₹111 crore, up from ₹51 lakh in the year-ago period, aided by growth in retail premiums, improved underwriting, and lower loss ratios. Profit, however, moderated from ₹128.2 crore in Q3FY26.

Gross written premium (GWP) rose 16% year-on-year to ₹5,968 crore in Q4, while net earned premium grew 14% to ₹4,327 crore from ₹3,798  crore. Operating performance turned around, with the company posting an operating profit of ₹64 crore against a loss of ₹87 crore a year earlier.

What did Nitesh Kambli say?

CFO Nilesh Kambli said profitability was driven by improvement in retail loss ratios, a calibrated exit from loss-making group insurance business, tighter underwriting on portability, and selective price hikes. “On the group side, we have given up certain large corporate businesses which were loss-making. We have taken price increases for our bank indemnity business. Together, this has led to a 12% reduction in group loss ratio,” he said.

The insurer’s overall loss ratio (the proportion of claims to premiums) improved by 194 basis points to 68.7% in FY26, while retail loss ratio declined by 97 bps to 68.2%. Expense ratio improved by 31 bps to 30.1% under Ind-AS.

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Underwriting losses narrowed to ₹154.28 crore from ₹275.17 crore a year ago, reflecting better risk selection. However, Kambli noted that underwriting loss under Indian GAAP accounting is not an accurate measure of the company’s profitability. The company has transitioned to Ind-AS accounting from April 1, in line with regulatory requirements.

Under Indian GAAP, premium income is recognised on a pro-rata basis while acquisition costs are expensed upfront. Under Ind-AS, both revenue and acquisition costs are spread over the policy term.

Under Ind-AS, Star Health reported a profit after tax of ₹911 crore for FY26, compared with ₹787 crore in FY25. The company posted an underwriting profit of ₹206 crore against a loss of ₹165 crore last year.

For the year ended March 31, 2026, GWP stood at ₹20,369 crore, up 16% year-on-year. The company, which had earlier guided for ₹30,000 crore GWP by FY28, has revised its target to ₹27,500 crore, factoring in a reduced focus on group insurance, Kambli said.

Shares of Star Health closed flat at ₹516.35. The results were declared post market hours.