Important note on CSR in Health Insurance
Unlike Life Insurance, Health Insurance CSR is calculated by volume of claims (number of claims), not by value (amount). A 90% CSR means out of 100 claims filed, 90 were paid. It does not mean 90% of the entire hospital bill was paid.
Data source
Source: IRDAI Handbook on Indian Insurance Statistics 2023-24, released March 2025.
Source: IRDAI Annual Report 2023-24.
Verify at: irdai.gov.in/web/irdai/annual-reports
TABLE 1 — Life Insurance: Individual Death Claims CSR (FY 2023-24)
| Insurer | Individual Death Claim CSR | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Bandhan Life Insurance | 99.66% | Private |
| Axis Max Life Insurance | 99.65% | Private |
| HDFC Life Insurance | 99.50% | Private |
| Tata AIA Life Insurance | 99.13% | Private |
| Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) | 98.60%* | Public (Govt.) |
| Private insurers combined | 99.00% | All Private |
| Overall industry (Life) | 96.82% | Combined |
*LIC figure includes group and individual claims combined. Source: IRDAI Annual Report 2023-24.
TABLE 2 — General/Health Insurance: Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) FY 2023-24
| Segment | ICR (%) | What This Means |
|---|---|---|
| Public sector general insurers | 97.23% | Paying out most premiums as claims |
| Private sector general insurers | 76.49% | More balanced |
| Standalone health insurers | 63.63% | Lower — includes cost structure |
| Industry overall (General) | 82.52% | Combined average |
Why we do not show retail vs group health CSR separately: IRDAI does not publish health insurer CSR as a retail/group split in the format previously shown on this page. The previous table on this page contained figures not sourced from any IRDAI publication and has been replaced.
Why the "Claims Settled under 30 days" column is gone: This metric is not published per-insurer by IRDAI. IRDAI mandates that all insurers must settle claims within 30 days of receiving complete documents — this is a regulatory requirement, not a published per-insurer metric.
For the most current insurer-specific data, visit irdai.gov.in directly.
The 3 Metrics You Must Actually Check
CSR is heavily manipulated in marketing. Check these three instead:
- Retail CSR vs Group CSR: Many insurers boast a 99% overall CSR because massive corporate claims (which are heavily negotiated and rarely rejected) artificially inflate their numbers. The retail individual CSR is often 4-5% lower.
- Claims Settled < 30 Days: An insurer might eventually pay your claim after a 6-month fight and an ombudsman order. That still counts as a "Settled Claim" in the CSR metric. The speed of settlement is crucial.
- Incurred Claim Ratio (ICR): This shows financial health. An ICR above 100% means they are paying out more in claims than they collect in premiums (bad, signifies steep premium hikes coming). An ICR below 50% means they are denying too many claims or charging too much (also bad). The sweet spot is 70% to 90%.
Read more: Understanding the Incurred Claim Ratio (ICR) →
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