How to Compare Insurers Using IRDAI Data

Metrics you can compare directly

These metrics have a clear direction (higher or lower is better) and the same definition is used by all insurers filing the relevant IRDAI form. Direct ranking is valid when comparing insurers of the same type (life vs. life, general vs. general).

• Claim Settlement Ratio (life, count-based): Same formula (L-40), same definition across all life insurers. Higher is better. Valid for direct ranking within the same fiscal year.
• Solvency ratio: ASM ÷ RSM, same formula across all insurers. Higher is better (regulatory minimum 1.5×). Valid for direct ranking and trend comparison.
• Persistency ratio (life, same tenor and type): Compare 13th-month regular-premium count persistency against 13th-month regular-premium count persistency — the same tenor and measurement type. Do not compare the 13th-month figure of one insurer against the 61st-month figure of another.
• Grievance rate (per 10,000 policies): Normalised, so valid for cross-insurer comparison within the same period. Lower is better.
• Incurred Claims Ratio (same denominator): Compare NWP-based ICR to NWP-based ICR; GDP-based to GDP-based. Do not mix denominator types.

Metrics that need context before comparing

These metrics have a direction but the raw number is significantly affected by portfolio mix, product type, or business model — so a simple ranking can mislead.

• Combined ratio (general insurance): Below 100% is profitable; above 100% is not. But a general insurer with a 105% combined ratio that earns significant investment income may be financially healthy. The combined ratio measures underwriting profitability, not total profitability. Also, short-tail lines (motor OD, crop) will differ structurally from long-tail lines (liability, engineering).
• Expense ratio: Heavily influenced by the insurer's stage of growth. A fast-growing insurer spends more on marketing and distribution, inflating the expense ratio relative to a mature book. Compare insurers at similar growth stages or look at multi-year trends.
• Claim settlement ratio (amount-based vs. count-based): These are different metrics. An insurer may settle 99% of claims by count but only 94% by amount if it disputes large-value claims. Check which variant you're reading.

Metrics that must not be ranked

These are size indicators, not performance metrics. Ranking by them implies bigger = better, which contradicts the neutrality principle of this platform and can mislead consumers.

• Gross Written Premium (GWP) / New Business Premium: Measures the size of an insurer's revenue, not its quality. LIC has the largest GWP of any life insurer in India by far. That does not mean LIC's policies are the best — it means LIC is the largest.
• Market share: Percentage of total industry premium. Same as GWP — a size indicator only.
• Number of new policies / in-force policies: These are volume metrics. A very large policy count with poor persistency is worse than a smaller, stickier book.

This platform presents these metrics as sortable tables with no rank ordinals and a clear "size indicator — not a performance metric" label.

Same insurer type only

Never compare a life insurer's claim settlement ratio to a general insurer's. Life insurance CSR measures death benefit claims; general insurance CSR measures motor, health, fire claims. They are structurally different products with different claim patterns, time horizons, and dispute rates.

This platform only generates comparison pages for same-type insurer pairs (life vs. life, general vs. general, health vs. health).

Use the same reporting period

All comparisons on this platform use the most recent period for which both insurers have available data. Do not compare an insurer's FY2024-25 figure against another's FY2023-24 — market conditions, regulatory changes, and macroeconomic factors can shift every ratio significantly year to year.