Public sector firms clocked 21% growth at Rs 34,113 crore, while private players reported 25% leap in premium over the previous fiscal with Rs 24,230 crore in gross collections.
The general insurance industry has witnessed robust growth in premium collections. Total premium collected by both public and private companies stood at Rs 58,344 crore in FY12 compared to Rs 47,372 crore the previous fiscal. In contrast, life insurance players had reported a dip in premium, due to increased competition and slow growth of products like ULIPs.
“It has been a good year for general Insurance. In this competitive market, business retention is difficult due to aggressive pricing, but our health insurance product has been a key contributor to our growth in the financial year 2011-2012,” says Krishnamoorthy Rao, MD and CEO, Future Generali India Insurance. The insurer posted 53% growth in premium in FY12 at Rs 937 crore over the Rs 612 crore reported in the previous fiscal.
SBI General Insurance, a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Insurance Australia Group, has reported a healthy growth in premium collections in FY12 with Rs 250 crore, albeit on a low base. It had reported Rs 43 crore in premium in the previous fiscal. The insurer has been able to leverage SBI’s extensive branch network to grow its premium. RR Belle, MD & CEO, SBI General Insurance said today, “We were able to establish a strong foundation across product lines like fire, engineering, aviation, home insurance and motor insurance during the past year.” According to him, SBI General Insurance is also looking at increasing its footprint by developing its IT infrastructure.
Focus on rural customers, where the demand largely remains untapped, and segments like SME has helped general insurance players. Greater awareness about health policies has also helped boost their performance.
However, the industry is bound to witness more aggressive pricing from players. A number of players are also facing huge underwriting losses. SBI’s Belle told reporters, “We still come across suicidal pricing by some of our competitors.”
Among private players, ICICI Lombard reported a 21% jump, with Rs 5,150 crore premium collection in FY12. Public sector giant New India managed Rs 8,535 crore in collection.