Jhunjhunwala-backed Star Health Insurance falls 7% after Q2 earnings

The shares of Star Health Insurance today fell over 6.31 per cent to an intraday low of Rs 543.40 apiece on the NSE on Wednesday, November 1. The company on October 30 reported a 34 per cent increase in its net profit year-on-year during the quarter ended September 30. The company's total income in Q2 FY24 rose to Rs 3,357 crore as against Rs 2,918 crore in the year-ago period.

Even though the insurer reported positive results, it failed to meet the market expectations because of higher-than-expected claims and expense ratios.

Star Health Insurance was promoted by late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and his family among others. Jhunjhunwalas holds 17.31 per ent stake in the company.

Star Health management expects the claims ratio to exceed the earlier guidance range of 63-65 percent loss ratio considering the rising incidences of fever and respiratory diseases across the country. Motilal Oswal has reiterated ‘buy’ rating on Star Health stock with a target price of Rs 730.