Star Health expands footprint

Hyderabad: Health insurance provider Star Health and Allied Insurance has emphasised customer-centricity, innovation and transparency as the core pillars guiding its growth strategy, as the company highlighted its two-decade journey and expanding footprint across India.

Speaking about the company’s progress in Hyderabad on Friday, Himanshu Walia, Whole-time Director, Star Health Insurance said the health insurance business is far more complex than it appears because it directly deals with public health and involves multiple stakeholders, including customers, hospital partners and distribution partners. Despite these challenges, the company believes it has built a strong and sustainable business over the last 20 years.

The company is also expanding rapidly in the Telugu states. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, it is growing at around 19 per cent in gross written premium and 7 per cent in terms of policy count. Andhra Pradesh alone contributes about 11 per cent of the company’s total premium and around 10 per cent of its policies. Around 25 lakh lives are currently covered in the two states.

In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, around 1.7 lakh claims worth about Rs1,150 crore have been settled during the same period.

The company currently processes around 6,000 claims daily and pays more than Rs30 crore in claims every day. Nearly 96 per cent of cashless claims are processed within three hours.

In 2021, the insurer went public and raised Rs6,400 crore through its initial public offering, which was oversubscribed 2.5 times. Since then, the company has continued to expand its presence, particularly in the retail health insurance segment.

The company currently holds about 31 per cent market share in the retail health insurance segment and around 53 per cent among standalone health insurers. It continues to focus primarily on retail customers rather than corporate group insurance, where margins are relatively thin.