GST exemption will boost health insurance: NIC boss
Times of India | 27 August 2025
Kolkata: The retail health insurance segment will see a boom if premiums are exempt from GST, National Insurance CMD Rajeswari Singh Muni said on Tuesday. A price drop, she said, would attract more retail customers and may also encourage existing customers to increase the sum assured.
The Centre is mulling exempting life and health insurance premiums from GST.
"Today, health insurance is the fastest-growing segment, constituting around 41% of the total non-life insurance premium in the country," Singh Muni said. | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in KolkataAccording to her, around 55 crore people in the country are covered under various types of health insurance, including paid health insurance, central health insurance and state health insurance. The rest of the population is not covered by any health insurance.
"Post-Covid, the need and significance (of health insurance) have been largely understood by the public, and the demand has substantially increased. Having said that, still around 40 crore Indians are not covered under any form of health insurance. This missing middle layer is neither covered under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme nor under the paid health insurance plans. In addition, those already covered are also not fully protected, considering the rising medical treatment costs and related inflation," she said.
Health insurance premiums attract a GST of 18%.
At National Insurance Company, the main factors considered while pricing health products are age, demographic distribution and the inflationary trends of healthcare costs.
"We do not foresee any immediate increase in health insurance premiums on account of either reduction or exemption of GST. Rather, it would be largely beneficial to the masses by making it more affordable," Singh Muni said. Incidentally, 50% of the NIC portfolio is health.