SBI General Insurance passes full GST benefit to individuals, making policies more affordable

SBI General Insurance has announced that it is passing on the full benefits of recent GST reforms to individual policyholders, a move aimed at making health insurance more accessible and affordable.

Naveen Chandra Jha, Managing Director and CEO of SBI General Insurance, said, "SBI General Insurance has passed on the full benefit of GST reforms to all individuals. Accordingly, the net outgo for individual consumers has been reduced for products like Health Insurance, Personal Accident & Travel Insurance, maintaining the same policy coverage and claims servicing standards."

"The GST exemption applies to new policies, portability, as well as migration cases, enabling individual policyholders, including first-time buyers, to benefit from lower insurance premiums across these categories. With this, we reaffirm our commitment to the government’s vision of Insurance for All by 2047, " he added.

Insurance experts believe such measures will encourage more individuals to invest in protection products, as lower premiums make it easier for middle-class households to secure adequate coverage. This move is viewed as a significant step toward deepening insurance penetration in India, particularly among first-time policyholders.

Gautam B. Boda, Group Vice Chairman of J.B. Boda Group, stated that Indian Insurers are passing on the benefit of the 18% GST exemption on retail health and life policies to both existing and new customers. "Although insurers have the challenge of Input Tax Credit, the removal of GST aligns with the Indian Government’s vision of Insurance for all by 2047 to provide access to affordable healthcare, reduced healthcare vulnerability, greater insurance penetration, financial security & inclusion," added Boda.

It is also worth noting that, according to the Kotak Institutional Equities report on Insurance, August 2025 was another month of moderate growth for the non-life industry (excluding crop, up 10% year-over-year, 9-12% year-over-year since April). "Expectations of GST cuts have likely impacted retail health as well. Supported by a better pricing environment, commercial lines remained strong — the only bright spot. ICICI Lombard lagged behind the industry, reporting 2% GWP growth; Bajaj Allianz and Go Digit performed better (GWP up 9-14% yoy)," per the report.

SBI General Insurance is not a publicly listed company, and therefore, it does not have a stock price listed on the NSE or BSE.