India’s general insurance sector experienced a subdued growth of just 2.8% in July, primarily due to weak motor insurance sales and significant premium contractions among major insurers such as Bajaj Allianz, HDFC Ergo, and ICICI Lombard. These large players saw their premiums decline by 10% to 25%. However, New India Assurance stood out with a strong performance, reporting a 16% increase in premiums. Standalone health insurers also demonstrated robust growth, with their premium collections rising by over 10% year-on-year. Overall, the industry’s gross written premium for July reached ₹29,729 crore, up from ₹28,929 crore in the same month last year. The article attributes the reported slowdown to a change in reporting format.