Kolkata, April 17, 2026 : Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited (NSE: STARHEALTH; BSE: 543412), India’s largest standalone retail health insurance company, continues to deepen its presence in West Bengal as stronger awareness and improving penetration support wider adoption of organised health insurance in the state. West Bengal remains an important market for the company, reflecting the broader expansion of retail health insurance through scale, service quality and technology-enabled delivery.
In West Bengal, Star Health Insurance recorded Gross Written Premium of ~₹1,100 crore in FY26, up 10% over the previous year. The state also saw a 3% increase in the number of policies, while lives protected rose to 14.7 lakh+. Fresh business growth is being driven by rising New-to-Industry customers and deeper penetration in preferred geographies. The company’s on-ground footprint in the state includes 75+ branches, 62.1K+ advisors, 800+ employees, 75+ Star Gramin Bima Kendras, 1,880+ pin codes covered and 600+ network hospitals.
As the company continues to deepen its presence in West Bengal, Anand Roy, MD & CEO, Star Health Insurance, said, “Health insurance is becoming more important in how families approach financial preparedness, healthcare access and continuity of care. As awareness increases and expectations from the category become sharper, the role of an insurer extends well beyond product availability. It is built through service quality, dependable claims support, strong hospital access and an experience that customers can rely on consistently. West Bengal reflects that shift clearly, with customers placing greater value on organised health insurance as part of their overall approach to protection and care. That is what makes the category more relevant, more credible and more firmly embedded in everyday life.”
Claims servicing remains one of the strongest proof points of the company’s customer franchise in the state. In 9MFY26, Star Health settled over 92.7K claims worth ~₹460 crore in West Bengal, up from 71.9K claims worth ₹391 crore in the same period last year. Star Health processes over 5,800 claims every day, with 96% of cashless claims handled in less than three hours, while AI-led straight-through processing is being scaled further to improve speed and efficiency.
At the national level, Star Health continues to maintain leadership in retail health insurance, with a 31% market share in retail health and a 53% share among standalone health insurers. For FY26, the company reported Gross Written Premium of ~₹18,600 crore on a 1/n basis, up 11% over FY25. Today, Star Health protects 25 million+ lives across India through 900+ branch offices, 8.3 lakh+ agents and 15,400+ network hospitals. The company is also broadening customer engagement beyond hospitalisation through wellness, telemedicine, Face Scan, home healthcare support and the treatment cost calculator, with more than a million customers using these digital health services in FY26.
Commenting on the company’s continued focus on the region, Himanshu Walia, Whole-time Director, Star Health Insurance, said, “West Bengal is showing strong customer engagement in the way people are interacting with health insurance beyond the point of hospitalisation. We are seeing more active usage of wellness, telemedicine, home healthcare and digital tools, which reflects a growing preference for support that is accessible, practical and ongoing. Our focus in the state has been on making that experience more seamless through stronger service support, and deeper local reach. This is helping health insurance become more closely woven into the customer’s overall healthcare journey.”
Star Health is also extending customer engagement beyond core insurance coverage through digital health and community-level care initiatives in West Bengal. Its digital health ecosystem now reaches 940 pin codes in the state, while home healthcare support has reached around 5,750 customers since launch. The company’s Arogya Seva Kendra centres in Asansol and Siliguri further strengthen access to free primary and preventive healthcare services, including doctor consultations, medicines, diagnostics and pneumococcal vaccination support.
