Aditya Birla Capital Health Insurance sales rise 48%, PBT falls

Aditya Birla Capital Health Insurance reported sales gross written premium (GWP) of Rs 4,543 crore in H1 FY27, about 48% higher year on year, but profit before tax (PBT) fell to Rs 46 crore from Rs 76 crore. Its International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) combined ratio increased to 106.5% from 103.1%.

How fast did ABHI grow in H1 FY27?

ABHI increased sales GWP by about 48% year on year to Rs 4,543 crore in H1 FY27, according to management’s performance highlights. Management described ABHI as one of the fastest-growing SAHI players on this measure. Sales GWP includes reinsurance inward business, meaning the reported figure includes business accepted from other insurers as well as ABHI’s own policy sales.

ABHI reported a 14.2% SAHI market share on a sales-GWP basis in H1 FY27, up 70 basis points year on year. One basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point. Its market-share presentation shows sales share at 13.6% in September 2025 and 14.2% in September 2026, while the presentation describes the increase as about 0.7 percentage points.

The market-share comparison also places ABHI’s growth against the wider SAHI segment. For year-to-date September 2026, the presentation reports 27% sales growth for SAHI and 20% for the industry, compared with ABHI growth shown as 33% or 48%, with the latter marked as including reinsurance inward business. The distinction matters because the H1 FY27 headline sales-GWP growth of about 48% uses that broader measure.

What happened to ABHI’s profitability metrics?

ABHI’s reported profitability metrics moved adversely despite the sales-GWP increase: H1 FY27 PBT was Rs 46 crore, down from Rs 76 crore in the prior-year period, while the combined ratio rose to 106.5% from 103.1%. The Rs 30 crore decline in PBT and the 3.4-percentage-point increase in the combined ratio are disclosed on an IFRS basis.

The presentation does not provide a line-by-line bridge for the change in either H1 FY27 PBT or the combined ratio. It places the Rs 4,543 crore sales-GWP result alongside Rs 46 crore of PBT and a 106.5% combined ratio, but does not disclose claims costs, acquisition costs, commission costs or reserve movements that would explain the ratio’s increase.

The available figures therefore show that sales growth, retail expansion and market-share gains coincided with lower reported PBT and a higher combined ratio. ABHI’s sales market share rose from 13.6% in September 2025 to 14.2% in September 2026, but the source does not identify a single driver for the movement from a 103.1% combined ratio to 106.5%.

Which ABHI channels drove retail growth?

ABHI’s retail GWP rose 43% to Rs 2,349 crore in H1 FY27 from Rs 1,647 crore in H1 FY26, with digital and proprietary channels recording the fastest disclosed growth. Digital GWP increased 68% to Rs 657 crore from Rs 390 crore. Proprietary channels, which include agency and direct business, increased 51% to Rs 652 crore from Rs 432 crore.

Together, digital and proprietary channels added Rs 487 crore of the Rs 702 crore rise in retail GWP between H1 FY26 and H1 FY27. Banks generated Rs 570 crore in H1 FY27, up 18% from Rs 484 crore, while chartered accountant and broker channels produced Rs 470 crore, up 38% from Rs 341 crore. ABHI also disclosed that it onboarded Indian Overseas Bank.

ABHI’s distribution footprint includes more than 5,000 cities, more than 230 branches, more than 240,000 agents, 20 bank partners and a sales force of more than 6,300. The source also lists more than 17,900 network hospitals and more than 12,000 outpatient department network locations, providing the infrastructure figures alongside the H1 FY27 retail-GWP expansion.

How did ABHI’s channel and product mix change?

ABHI shifted a larger proportion of retail GWP toward proprietary and digital distribution in H1 FY27. Proprietary distribution rose to 28% of retail mix from 26% in H1 FY26, while digital increased to 28% from 24%. The faster 51% proprietary growth and 68% digital growth were greater than the 43% increase in retail GWP.

In contrast, banks declined to 24% of retail mix from 29%, although bank GWP rose by Rs 86 crore to Rs 570 crore. The chartered accountant and broker share eased to 20% from 21%, while its GWP rose by Rs 129 crore to Rs 470 crore. The mix data show that the bank channel grew in absolute terms but represented a smaller portion of retail GWP.

ABHI’s retail product mix also moved toward indemnity products, which represented 87% in H1 FY27 compared with 80% in H1 FY26. Fixed-benefit products declined to 13% from 20%. Geographically, Tier-I locations, including metros, remained 26%; Tier-II slipped to 33% from 34%; and Tier-III remained 41%, leaving Tier-III as the largest disclosed geographic segment.

What is ABHI’s plan for retail distribution?

ABHI presents its retail model as a diversified approach across agency, direct, bank, digital, and chartered accountant and broker channels. For proprietary distribution, management cites improved productivity and sourcing quality. For banks, management identifies deepening mid-sized partners into larger partnerships, along with productivity and cost optimisation.

For digital distribution, management’s stated plan is to retain momentum with existing partners and identify and invest in next market leaders. H1 FY27 digital GWP of Rs 657 crore was Rs 87 crore higher than bank GWP of Rs 570 crore, while both digital and proprietary channels represented 28% of retail mix, or 56% combined, compared with 50% in H1 FY26.

Whether the changing channel mix improves ABHI’s future PBT or combined ratio cannot be determined from the presentation. The source provides channel growth, mix and management actions, but it does not disclose channel-level claims costs, commissions, operating costs, PBT or combined ratios for H1 FY27.

Conclusion

ABHI’s H1 FY27 disclosures show a split between scale and reported profitability metrics. Sales GWP reached Rs 4,543 crore after about 48% growth, retail GWP rose 43% to Rs 2,349 crore and sales-GWP market share reached 14.2%. At the same time, IFRS PBT declined from Rs 76 crore to Rs 46 crore and the combined ratio increased from 103.1% to 106.5%.

The next disclosed matters to watch are management’s execution on proprietary productivity, deeper bank partnerships and digital-partner investment. Digital and proprietary GWP rose 68% and 51%, respectively, in H1 FY27, while management also cited productivity and cost optimisation in banking. The presentation sets no health-insurance profit target and does not explain the combined-ratio increase, leaving later reporting to show whether those actions change the 106.5% outcome.