Companies enjoy steep discounts on property insurance renewals

Mumbai: Despite the ongoing West Asian conflict, companies that renewed their insurance contracts on April 1 this year and insurers that renewed their agreements with reinsurers benefited from large discounts.

Many companies renew their insurance policies on April 1 to protect their property, facilities, machinery and operations. It is also the time when insurance companies renew their contracts with reinsurers.

Pavanjit Singh Dhingra, Joint Managing Director, Prudent Insurance Brokers, says: “I have never seen such a soft market in the last 25 years. Most companies have managed to provide discounts on premiums paid on property and group health insurance last year.”

“There is significant overcapacity on the reinsurance side, with many private insurers introducing new regulations and changing their leading reinsurers. This is a sign that a soft market will continue unless global geopolitical issues or major natural disaster events affect the market,” Dhingra added.

The main reasons for continued competitive market conditions are low catastrophe losses in 2025-2026, strong reinsurer balance sheets, competition from the entry of new reinsurers such as Valueattics Re and Allianz Jio Reinsurance, and high underwriting capacity.

According to Amarnath Saxena, Chief Technical Officer (Commercial), Bajaj General Insurance, “The April 1 renewal cycle has been distinctly segment-driven, with pricing and terms shaped by a mix of claims experience, risk quality, reinsurance terms, portfolio strategy and competitive intensity.”

While the market for property and group health insurance remained soft and competitive on renewal, the picture was more nuanced for marine and aviation insurance. This is because the domestic reinsurer GIC Re also withdrew its marine hull war risk coverage and marine cargo coverage. Globally, many companies, including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, London P&I Club and American Club, have canceled war risk coverage for ships operating in war zones.

“The main cargo business has remained largely stable and competitive but has seen an upward shift in pricing due to war-related risks, geopolitical tensions, re-routing of global shipping lanes and the more cautious stance of international reinsurance markets. As a result, insurers are increasingly assessing such risks on a voyage-by-voyage basis, with pricing and terms determined by geography, route, port risk and reinsurer appetite,” Saxena added.

When purchasing group health insurance for their employees, companies are increasingly looking at wellness-related solutions, structured preventive health checks, chronic disease management support, predictive health interventions, mental health programs and more flexible benefit design for a diverse workforce, according to industry officials. Although it is a loss-making business, it is noteworthy that insurers offer high discounts to companies that renew group health policies.

According to a report by Guy Carpenter (insurance broker), reinsurance rates fell sharply in Asia and India during the April 1 renewal season; In India, price cuts of over 20 percent were seen in key segments and global catastrophe losses fell by more than 50 percent on an annual basis.

Globally, insured catastrophe losses in the first quarter of 2026 are estimated to be approximately $13 billion, significantly below the five-year inflation-adjusted average. Lower losses and strong capital inflows have created excess capacity in the reinsurance market, encouraging competitive pricing across regions.