Insurers in India have quietly raised gold jewellery insurance limits to ₹25 lakh per policy starting April 1, 2026. ICICI Lombard confirmed this move on Thursday, citing “underwriting flexibility” for gem and jewellery units in Surat and Mumbai. The new limit covers up to 500 grams of 22K gold at ₹1,600 per gram insured value, a 40% jump from last year’s ₹1,200 per gram cap. And this isn’t just theory — HDFC Ergo’s Mumbai branch processed 127 such policies worth ₹3.2 crore within 72 hours of the announcement.
What drove this shift? RBI’s revised gold import guidance issued on March 27, 2026. The central bank doubled the annual import quota for banks from 100 tonnes to 200 tonnes for Q1FY27. “Jewellers in Surat alone account for 40% of India’s gold import demand,” said Pankaj Shah, MD of Surat Diamond Bourse Trustee Company. The move aims to streamline short-term risks while jewellers ramp up inventory for Akshaya Tritiya on April 26, 2026.
Jewelers aren’t the only ones who benefit. On April 1, 2026, IRDAI also notified a special “Jeweller’s Welfare Fund” insurance scheme for unorganized artisans. Premiums start at ₹2.50 per ₹1,000 insured, underwritten by New India Assurance. The fund covers accidental death, disability, and hospitalization for workers earning below ₹18,000 monthly. “Artisans earning ₹300 daily are vital to India’s ₹3.7 lakh crore gem-jewellery sector,” noted Union Minister Piyush Goyal during his speech in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Insurers aren’t leaving risks uncovered either. Tata AIG announced last Thursday a 25% hike in theft cover premiums for high-end jewellery. “Theft claims doubled in Q3FY26, averaging ₹1.8 lakh per case,” said Milan Sanghvi, head of retail products at Tata AIG. Burglary risks in Delhi’s Karol Bagh and Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar rose 38% in 2025, according to police records accessed by The Times of India.
But the biggest shift is in how banks handle gold loans as collateral. State Bank of India raised gold loan LTV ratios from 70% to 75% on April 1, 2026, allowing borrowers to avail ₹15 lakh against 500 grams of gold. “This brings parity in non-farm sector deficits,” said SBI Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh. HDFC Bank followed suit on April 2, 2026, raising its gold loan limit from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh for salaried customers.
GST on jewellery remains unchanged at 3% for gold refining services from April 1, 2026. The sector avoids a projected ₹500 crore GST loss after intense lobbying by The All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council earlier this month. But insurers still face challenges: claim settlement delays for theft cases exceed 45 days in tier-2 cities like Jaipur and Varanasi due to understaffed police stations and high forensic costs.
For consumers, the math is simple. Insuring ₹25 lakh worth of 22K gold today costs between ₹3,500 and ₹5,200 annually through general insurers. Bajaj Allianz offers the lowest rate at ₹3,499 per annum. For micro jewellers, insurers like Reliance General now accept premium payments via UPI, reducing policy costs by 8%.
The next threshold looms. From June 30, 2026, IRDAI will mandate GPS tracking for all gold shipments above ₹5 lakh. Non-compliance will lead to denial of theft claims exceeding ₹3 lakh. This follows a string of highway robberies on NH-44 between Hyderabad and Bengaluru in February 2026, where ₹14.2 crore worth of shipments were hijacked.
In Mumbai, the Zaveri Bazaar Traders’ Association has launched a WhatsApp group for real-time theft alerts, with 347 members reporting incidents within 5 minutes of occurrence. “Our losses dropped 22% after we adopted this system,” said Association President Praful Doshi.
