“We have already passed on the full zero GST benefit to new retail health policyholders .The policyholders will save a lot in case of a long term health insurance policy. Though, it is early days to calculate exactly the higher cost of retail health portfolio without ITC, we believe it will be around three to five percent in line with the industry expectation,’’ Parthanil Ghosh, executive director, HDFC Ergo General Insurance on Tuesday
Mumbai: HDFC Ergo General Insurance, one of the top five private sector general insurers, has said without input tax credit (ITC), implementation of zero per cent goods and service tax(GST) in retail Health portfolio may lead a cost spike of three to five per cent in the segment.
“We have already passed on the full zero GST benefit to new retail health policyholders .The policy holders will save a lot in case of a long term health insurance policy. Though, it is early days to calculate exactly the higher cost of retail health portfolio without ITC, we believe it will be around three to five percent in line with the industry expectation,’’ said Parthanil Ghosh, executive director, HDFC Ergo General Insurance on Tuesday.
However, the insurers can factor in the advantages of cheaper cost of pharmaceuticals, implants and diagnostic services.
HDFC Ergo General Insurance currently has around Rs 9,000 crore of Health Insurance portfolio out of which almost 65 per cent premiums are retail. Health Insurance is the largest portfolio of the company.
Ghosh said his company is currently undergoing large scale restructuring which has resulted in the degrowth of its topline for sometime.
HDFC Ergo General Insurance total premium income has shrunk by 20 per cent year-on –year to Rs 5716 crore in the first five months(Apr-Aug) of the current fiscal.
“We are restructuring our loss making Motor and Crop portfolio to large extent. In another couple of months, the restructuring will be over and the company will return to its growth trajectory. Apart from restructuring , the new regulatory norms on booking long term policies have also impacted topline growth of the company,’’ said Ghosh adding that the total Crop insurance premium in the industry will fall by 30 per cent during the current year.
There is strong case for raising the third party motor premium as severity of accidents are rising though the number of accidents have not gone up . Besides, the claims in terms of awards from the third party motor covers are going up , he said.
Meanwhile, the insurer hosted the grand finale of the 10th edition of Insurance Quiz Junior 2025, marking a milestone in its nationwide outreach.
The event brought together some of the brightest young minds from across the country, covering a journey that saw students’ participation from ~3,600 schools from across ~560 cities.
Anuj Tyagi, MD & CEO, HDFC ERGO General Insurance With participation from around 3,600 schools covering nearly 560 cities and deep engagement from government schools, and vernacular educational institutions, we are reaching corners of Bharat. By conducting the Quiz in five regional languages, English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, and Bengali, we’re making financial literacy truly inclusive
The grand finale concluded on a high note, with the winners receiving a cash prize of ₹2,25,000, the first runners-up taking home Rs 1,50,000, and the second runners-up awarded Rs 75,000.
Among the 7200 participating students, 45 per cent were girls. Also, this year the company reached to large number of smaller towns to invite participation for this quiz, and 42 per cent schools registered from the towns with populations under 10 lakhs. Besides, 20 per cent schools were vernacular medium schools, and 23 per cent schools were government schools.