New India Assurance Fire loss reaches Rs 1,612.93 crore

The New India Assurance Company Limited reported a Rs 1,612.93 crore Fire underwriting loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, reversing a Rs 277.82 crore profit in the preceding quarter. Management linked the property-business deterioration to large-risk losses, floods in Gujarat, North India and North East India, and a steep decline in property rates.

Why did New India Assurance report a Fire underwriting loss?

New India Assurance reported the Fire loss because large-risk events and flood claims coincided with lower property rates during the September 2026 quarter. Chairperson-cum-Managing Director Dr. Lavanya R. Mundayur said the property segment had significant underwriting losses from multiple large-risk losses and floods in Gujarat, North India and North East India.

The segment statement records a Rs 1,612.93 crore Fire underwriting loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. This compares with a Rs 905.85 crore loss in the quarter ended September 30, 2025 and a Rs 277.82 crore underwriting profit in the quarter ended June 30, 2026. The year-on-year loss widened by Rs 707.08 crore, while the quarter-on-quarter movement was a Rs 1,890.75 crore reversal.

The filing uses Fire as the reported segment, while management described its performance as the property segment. It does not provide a separate rupee amount for large-risk events or for floods in each affected region, so the contribution of individual claims to the Rs 1,612.93 crore result is not disclosed.

How much did Fire premium fall in the quarter?

New India Assurance's Fire net premium fell to Rs 481.16 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, from Rs 788.14 crore a year earlier and Rs 737.22 crore in the June 2026 quarter. The declines were Rs 306.98 crore year on year and Rs 256.06 crore quarter on quarter, consistent with management's reference to a steep fall in property rates.

At the company level, gross premiums written rose 5.14% in Q2 FY27, according to management. Standalone gross premiums written were Rs 11,083.43 crore in the September 2026 quarter, compared with Rs 10,541.17 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Fire therefore moved differently from total premium growth, with its reported net premium declining over both comparison periods.

For the half year ended September 30, 2026, Fire net premium was Rs 1,212.38 crore, down from Rs 1,666.52 crore in the corresponding half year of 2025. The Fire underwriting loss for the six-month period was Rs 1,335.11 crore, compared with a Rs 551.73 crore loss a year earlier, showing that the September-quarter reversal offset the June-quarter underwriting profit.

The announcement does not separately disclose Fire gross premium, claims paid or an average premium-rate movement. It does show that the September-quarter Fire underwriting loss of Rs 1,612.93 crore was more than three times the segment's Rs 481.16 crore net premium.

How did Fire compare with other insurance segments?

New India Assurance's Fire segment had the second-largest underwriting loss among the reported standalone insurance lines in the September 2026 quarter. Motor posted the largest loss at Rs 1,953.38 crore, followed by Health including Personal Accident at Rs 1,752.92 crore and Fire at Rs 1,612.93 crore.

Health including Personal Accident was the largest segment by net premium, at Rs 4,758.72 crore in the September 2026 quarter, against Rs 481.16 crore for Fire. Despite that much larger premium base, Health's underwriting loss was Rs 1,752.92 crore, only Rs 139.99 crore above Fire's loss. Aviation recorded a Rs 790.77 crore underwriting loss and Marine a Rs 54.09 crore loss, while Liability generated a Rs 61.31 crore underwriting profit.

Motor also included a separately disclosed reserve development. New India Assurance recognised Rs 715.41 crore of additional Motor Third-Party claim reserves in the quarter following the Supreme Court's June 11, 2026 judgment on compensation for unpaid domestic work. The initial estimate was included in claims incurred but not reported and incurred but not enough reported reserves.

The three largest loss-making segments, Motor, Health and Fire, together accounted for Rs 5,319.23 crore of underwriting losses in the September 2026 quarter. The company's standalone total underwriting loss was Rs 5,237.35 crore, with profits in Liability and other segment outcomes partly offsetting those three losses.

What did company-wide claims and ratios show?

New India Assurance's standalone incurred claim ratio rose to 133.71% in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, from 108.66% a year earlier and 103.38% in the preceding quarter. Incurred claims increased to Rs 12,879.50 crore from Rs 10,212.43 crore a year earlier, while premium earned rose to Rs 9,632.18 crore from Rs 9,398.91 crore.

The standalone combined ratio reached 156.20% in the September 2026 quarter, compared with 139.77% in the September 2025 quarter and 121.44% in the June 2026 quarter. The expense of management ratio was 19.95%, below 27.89% a year earlier but above 16.80% in the preceding quarter. The filing defines the expense of management ratio as expenses of management plus direct commission divided by gross direct premium.

Standalone operating loss was Rs 2,330.14 crore in the September quarter, compared with a Rs 640.28 crore operating loss a year earlier. Policyholders' investment income was Rs 2,907.21 crore, nearly unchanged from Rs 2,914.08 crore in the year-earlier quarter, but total expenses of Rs 14,869.53 crore exceeded total income of Rs 12,539.39 crore.

Management said New India Assurance partly monetised its NSE India investment and realised about Rs 1,800 crore of capital gains during the quarter. Standalone profit after tax nevertheless became a Rs 1,267.04 crore loss, compared with a Rs 63.25 crore profit a year earlier, while the solvency ratio declined to 1.61 times at September 30, 2026 from 1.79 times a year earlier.

Conclusion

New India Assurance's Fire result changed sharply in the September 2026 quarter, from a Rs 277.82 crore underwriting profit in June to a Rs 1,612.93 crore loss. Lower Fire net premium, multiple large-risk losses and regional flood claims coincided with higher company-wide incurred claims and a combined ratio of 156.20%.

The next results will show whether management's statement that property premiums have started to stabilise is reflected in Fire premium and underwriting performance. Management has cited tighter underwriting and technology interventions in Health and Motor claims management, while New India Assurance is scheduled for full compliance with Indian Accounting Standards from April 1, 2027.