The unlisted space is buzzing with standalone health insurers (SAHIs)—and Care Health Insurance (formerly Religare Health Insurance) sits right in the crosshairs. Health insurers are different from banks/NBFCs: loss ratios, expense ratios, combined ratio (CoR), and solvency matter more than “revenue growth” headlines. If you’re evaluating Care Health’s unlisted shares today, you need a toolkit that goes beyond GMP chatter.
This guide breaks down a valuation playbook for health insurers—grounded in unit economics, regulatory solvency, and claims trends—then applies it to Care Health’s current unlisted context on UnlistedCorner. We’ll also cover process hygiene for off-market transfers and how our Channel Partner (vendor) system can help you build a compliant, scalable practice.
1) Quick background: who is Care Health Insurance?
- Standalone health insurer (SAHI): Care Health focuses on retail and group health, not life or other general lines.
- Rebranding: It was earlier known as Religare Health Insurance and was rebranded to Care Health Insurance in 2020.
- Public disclosures: The company publishes statutory metrics (claims, expenses, solvency) on its website (Public Disclosures).
Why this matters: SAHIs are benchmarked on health-specific unit economics (loss/expense ratios, CoR) and regulatory solvency—these drive valuation multiples more than topline growth alone.
2) The metric stack you must know (and how to read it)
Think of a health insurer as an “underwriting + investing” machine. Here are the levers:
A) Gross Written Premium (GWP) → Net Earned Premium (NEP)
- GWP is the top-line premium booked.
- NEP is premium earned after reinsurance and unearned adjustments—this is the base for underwriting ratios.
For Care Health, trackers show FY25 GWP ~₹8,318 cr and NEP ~₹6,733 cr (YoY GWP growth ~21%). Use this to anchor scale and growth.
B) Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) / Loss Ratio
ICR (or loss ratio) = Net claims incurred / Net earned premium. It measures how much of every premium rupee goes out as claims. 90–100% for health isn’t uncommon; >100% means underwriting losses before expenses.
C) Expense Ratio
Expense ratio captures acquisition + operating costs as a % of premium (earned or written, depending on basis). It’s your efficiency gauge.
D) Combined Ratio (CoR)
CoR = Loss ratio + Expense ratio. <100% implies underwriting profit; >100% implies underwriting loss (investment income can still pull overall profits up).
Peer reality check: Star Health’s FY25 CoR printed around 101.1% (v/s ~97% FY24), reminding everyone that medical inflation and group mix can swing CoR quickly. CoR normalized near 99.6% in Q1 FY26. Keep that context when you judge SAHI margins.
E) Solvency Ratio (capital adequacy)
IRDAI requires a control level solvency of 1.50× (i.e., 150%). Care Health’s own materials around FY24 referenced solvency in the ~1.7–1.8× zone (annual-report excerpt 1.74×; independent trackers 1.68–1.85×). Directionally: >1.5× is compliant; higher buffers support growth and rating comfort.
3) The policy backdrop you can’t ignore (2024–25 changes)
- Cashless discharge timelines: IRDAI reinforced faster cashless claims, directing that discharge should not be delayed—clear within ~3 hours or the insurer bears hospital charges for delay. Operationally, this pushes insurers to improve claims TAT and provider contracting.
- Health Insurance Master Circulars: 2024 guidance tightened process/turnaround expectations and standardization. This affects claims cost governance and customer experience—both flow into loss and expense ratios.
- Waiting period relief: Pre-existing disease waiting reduced (e.g., from 4 years to 3 years) in the 2024 updates—good for customers, but pricing/ICR must reflect it.
- GST reform watch (Aug–Sep 2025): A GST exemption on individual life & health premiums is under active consideration. If implemented, premiums could drop (demand ↑), but insurers would lose input tax credit, potentially pressuring expense ratios. Net impact depends on pass-throughs and scale.
4) Care Health today: reading the numbers with discipline
Scale & growth: FY25 GWP ~₹8.3k cr (+~21% YoY), NEP ~₹6.7k cr. Good growth, but growth ≠ value unless CoR and ROE sustain.
Solvency: FY24 references show ~1.74×; trackers in the 1.68–1.85× zone indicate a healthy buffer above IRDAI’s 1.50×. For a growthy SAHI, >1.6× is reassuring (capital for shocks & expansion).
Profitability swing risk: Health claims inflation and group mix can nudge CoR above/below 100 quickly—Star Health’s FY25 drift to ~101% is a live case study. That’s why ICR discipline, provider contracts, and distribution efficiency matter more than a single quarter’s premium spike.
5) How the unlisted market prices SAHIs (and how to triangulate Care)
Unlike life insurers (valued on P/EV), Indian health/general insurers are commonly anchored on P/B together with CoR trajectory and ROE. A practical triangulation:
- P/B vs Listed Peer:
- Star Health trades around ~3.6–3.8× P/B (Aug 2025 snapshots). That’s a live “retail health” comp, albeit larger scale. A structurally higher CoR or lower ROE vs. Star should command a discount, not a premium.
- Underwriting quality (CoR):
- Sustained <100% CoR supports higher P/B. Volatile CoR → lower P/B. Look at Care’s ICR trend (net claims) and expense ratio (distribution/ops). Definitions: ICR and CoR formulas per IRDAI/industry references.
- Solvency headroom:
- >1.5× is mandatory; >1.7× offers growth buffer and comfort. Thin solvency caps growth and may depress multiples.
- Growth mix:
- Group vs Retail. Group heavy mixes can swing claims; retail can be stickier but acquisition costs run higher (expense ratio ↑). Your P/B needs to reflect mix.
- Macro/policy sensitivities:
- GST exemption (if approved) could be volume-positive but ITC loss may inflate expense ratios—watch how insurers reprice or optimize costs.
6) What does UnlistedCorner show for Care Health right now?
On UnlistedCorner, the Care Health Insurance Limited Unlisted Shares page currently shows:
- Last Trade Price: ₹180
- Lot size: 500 shares
- Book Value (page field): ₹22.30
- EPS: ₹3.13
- P/E (page field): 57.51
- Market cap (indicative): ₹17,516.25 cr
These are reference values on our marketplace—final deal terms vary by lot size, counterparty and KYC readiness. Always cross-verify fundamentals from the latest disclosures.
Spot the implication: If you take the page book value ₹22.30 at face value, P/B ≈ 8.1× at ₹180—well above Star Health’s ~3.6–3.8× range. That doesn’t automatically mean overpriced (scales, mix, accounting bases differ), but it does demand sharper scrutiny on CoR/ROE path and near-term catalysts.
7) A clean valuation scaffold you can actually use
Step 1: Establish base metrics (most recent year/TTM)
- NEP, ICR (loss ratio), expense ratio, CoR, solvency.
- Pull from Care Health’s public disclosures/annuals; use FY24 AR/trackers for solvency and growth context, and FY25 trackers for GWP/NEP.
Step 2: Build three scenarios (Conservative/Base/Upside)
- CoR path: e.g., 102% / 100% / 98% over next 6–8 quarters as claims normalize and expense ratio improves.
- Growth: GWP +12% / +18% / +22% with retail mix tilt and better provider contracts.
- Solvency: Maintain ≥1.6–1.7× even with growth (no excessive capital strain).
Step 3: Translate to valuation
- P/B approach: Map your scenario ROE and CoR against peer P/B (Star ~3.6–3.8×). If your base-case ROE is lower or CoR more volatile, apply a discount to peer P/B (e.g., 2.2–3.0×). If discipline improves visibly, 3.0–3.5× can be justified.
- Cross-check with P/E: Health insurer IFRS earnings can be noisy near transitions; P/B + CoR + ROE is typically more reliable than headline P/E.
Step 4: Policy sensitivity overlay
- If GST exemption is approved and demand expands, top-line could see a bump but expense ratio may lift without ITC. Model both the volume uptick and cost drift; let numbers—not narratives—move your multiple.
8) Risk map (what can surprise your model)
- Medical inflation/claims spikes → ICR ↑ → CoR ↑ → near-term P/B de-rating.
- Group business pricing pressure → thin margins if acquisition-led growth outpaces underwriting control.
- Reinsurance terms → affect net claims and capital strain.
- Regulatory → cashless timelines, product tweaks (PED waiting), portability—great for consumers, but pricing must keep pace to preserve CoR.
- GST policy turn → expense ratio impact vs. premium elasticity.
9) Trading unlisted the right way: process hygiene (save money, avoid headaches)
- Use depository rails (NSDL/CDSL) correctly: Off-market transfer via e-DIS/DIS between demat accounts. Keep invoice/contract note, bank UTR, and depository confirmations.
- Stamp duty: 0.015% of consideration on delivery-based off-market transfers—collected by NSDL/CDSL before execution; calculators available on depository sites. (Gifts typically nil consideration → nil duty.)
- Timelines & names: Ensure name/PAN/DP IDs match; any mismatch can cause rollback or corporate-action misses.
10) How UnlistedCorner helps with Care Health (and your unlisted portfolio)
At UnlistedCorner, we’re a process-first marketplace for unlisted, delisted, pre-IPO & unquoted shares with 15+ years in the space:
- Care Health product page: See the current reference price (₹180), lot size (500), and initiate a guided, KYC-led buy/sell flow. We coordinate documents and DP execution end-to-end.
- Marketplace hub: Browse other marquee counters (NSE, Tata Capital, HDB, etc.) with live reference prices and sector filters.
- Education & process guides: Our Step-by-Step blog explains how to buy/sell unlisted shares cleanly—great for first-timers and partners.
For dealers/advisors: our Channel Partner (vendor) system
Scale a compliant unlisted practice with: in-depth reports, a dashboard (leads, daily prices, knowledge center, commission tracking), market insights, and 3-step onboarding (submit query → verification → go-live).
11) FAQ (rich-result ready)
Q1) What solvency ratio must Indian insurers maintain?
A: 1.50× (150%) minimum solvency ratio at the control level, per IRDAI. Insurers typically run buffers above this to support growth.
Q2) What’s the difference between ICR and CoR?
A: ICR (loss ratio) = Net claims / Net earned premium. CoR = ICR + expense ratio. CoR <100% indicates underwriting profit; >100% indicates underwriting loss (investment income can still offset).
Q3) How did health peers perform recently?
A: Star Health’s FY25 combined ratio ~101.1% (vs ~97% FY24); Q1 FY26 IFRS CoR ~99.6%—a reminder that CoR is sensitive to claims inflation and mix.
Q4) Any 2025 policy changes to watch?
A: A GST exemption on individual life/health premiums is being considered; it could lower premiums but remove input-tax credits, impacting expense ratios. Also, faster cashless discharge rules (no discharge delays beyond ~3 hours) push TAT/ops upgrades.
Q5) What taxes apply when I sell unlisted shares?
A: For transfers on/after July 23, 2024, LTCG on most assets (including unlisted equity) is 12.5% without indexation; listed equity under 112A is 12.5% over ₹1.25 lakh (with STT conditions). Always confirm specifics for your case.
Final word & how to navigate Care Health unlisted in 2025
- Judge quality by math, not mood: Anchor on ICR → CoR → ROE and solvency; they price the equity more than growth alone.
- Benchmark honestly: If the implied P/B on your unlisted deal is well above a listed peer’s (e.g., Star Health ~3.6–3.8×), demand clear proof of superior CoR/ROE or imminent catalysts (e.g., scale, mix, distribution).
- Model policy shifts: Potential GST exemption can raise volumes but trim ITC, nudging expense ratios; be conservative in base cases.
- Execute cleanly: Use NSDL/CDSL off-market rails; pay 0.015% stamp duty and keep a full audit trail.