Mumbai, Oct. 15 -- Some of India's largest insurers will need deep expense cuts to meet limits proposed by the insurance regulator, according to Mint's calculations based on FY26 financial disclosures, prompting the industry to push for a phased glide path to meet the tighter caps.

Meeting the FY29 ceilings could require cuts of up to 13.6 percentage points for general insurers and up to 10.9 percentage points for life insurers, with FY32 targets requiring further reductions. The calculation analyzed the top five companies by market share across both general and life categories.

In a consultation paper on distribution reforms released in September, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) proposed that general...