ICICI Lombard vs National Insurance

ICICI Lombard and National Insurance are two of the insurers we track in India. ICICI Lombard is headquartered in Mumbai and has been operating for 25 years (established 2001); National Insurance is headquartered in Kolkata and has been operating for 120 years (established 1906). That is roughly 95 years of difference in market experience — National Insurance predates ICICI Lombard by a generation, which usually translates into more granular underwriting data and a larger book of legacy claims to reference. Older does not automatically mean better, but it does mean more institutional memory of what claims look like in this market.

On the most consequential metric — does the insurer actually pay claims when filed — ICICI Lombard reports a claim settlement ratio of 94.5% (FY2023-24), versus 88.9% for National Insurance (FY2023-24). A 5.599999999999994-point gap is large enough to matter, particularly on term life and other products where the policy's only real economic value is the payout at claim time.

ICICI Lombard operates across 3 lines (health, motor, travel), with 3 products in our database. National Insurance operates across 2 lines (health, motor), with 1 product. Where the comparison actually applies is the health and motor categories, where both insurers offer competing products that a buyer would realistically choose between.

On cashless hospital network — the most practically important figure for health insurance — ICICI Lombard lists 11,800 hospitals versus 8,100 for the other. That is roughly 46% more network coverage, which matters most outside metro cities where network density thins out fastest. If you live in a tier-2 or smaller town, the larger network usually outweighs a small premium difference; in metros the gap is less practically significant.

How to actually choose between ICICI Lombard and National Insurance in India: the insurer choice is one input, but the specific plan you pick within that insurer matters more. Two flagships from different insurers are usually closer to each other than a flagship and a budget plan from the same insurer. Use the insurer-level comparison above to set your priors (which company you trust on claim record, network, and tenure), then click into the specific plans listed on each insurer's profile to compare features, exclusions, and waiting periods at the product level. When all else is comparable, weight the insurer with the stronger published claim record — the policy is only worth what the insurer actually pays.