CHENNAI: Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited (Star Health Insurance), India’s leading health insurance provider, has achieved a significant milestone with a credit rating upgrade from India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra).
The company’s Long-Term Issuer Rating has been elevated to ‘IND AA+’ from ‘IND AA’, with a Stable outlook. Additionally, Star Health’s subordinated debt has been upgraded to ‘IND AA’ from ‘IND AA-‘. The upgrade reflects Star’s consistence in profitability, leadership position and large distribution network.
Recently, Care Ratings had also assigned Star Health Insurance a credit rating of ‘CARE AA+’ with a Stable Outlook.
The upgrade underscores Star Health’s remarkable performance and strong market position in the Indian insurance sector. The company has consistently demonstrated its prowess through steady underwriting profits, maintained market leadership and an expansive distribution network.
With a commanding 33 per cent market share in the retail health segment and a notable 5.3 per cent in the overall general insurance space, Star Health Insurance continues to be a dominant force in the industry.
Market leadership
The company’s financial robustness is evident in its impressive growth trajectory, with gross written premiums expanding at a CAGR of 23.1 per cent from FY19 to FY24, reaching Rs152.5 billion. Star Health Insurance’s profitability has also shown significant improvement, with the combined ratio stabilising at 96.67 per cent in FY24 and return on equity climbing to 14.4 per cent.
Aneesh Srivastava, CIO of Star Health Insurance, said: “This upgrade in our credit rating from India Ratings reaffirms our commitment to excellence and our market leadership position. It reflects the trust our customers place in us and the hard work of our dedicated team.
“We have built Star Health Insurance to perform well with a solid company structure, and we continue to show great progress toward our FY25 objectives. We remain focused on delivering a robust and predictable financial performance, all while providing an incredible experience to our valued customers.”
The rating upgrade takes into account Star Health’s focus on retail health insurance, its widespread distribution network, and the expertise of its management team. With a solvency margin of 2.21x for FY24, well above regulatory requirements, the company is well-positioned for sustainable growth and continued market leadership.
