Industry Reports Suggest General Insurance Sector may cross Rs 1-Trillion Target in Current Fiscal Year

“This remarkable growth is a joint effort from 17 privately held insurers, 4 state-owned insurers, 5 autonomous health insurers, and 2 specialized insurance companies,” stated the General Insurance Council report.

The report further revealed the general insurance segment netted an annual premium income of Rs 84,715 crore, a 9.3% decrease recorded in FY 2014-15, as compared to Rs 77,540 crore in 2013-14. Overall, the growth rate in FY14-15 was at the lowest ebb in the last three years.

Mr. R. Chandrasekaran, General Insurance Council secretary, commented, “With positive trend in income generation, I believe that the sector will cross the Rs 1.0 trillion mark in annual premium income, this fiscal year.”

He further added, “The recently launched Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana will facilitate premium collection, and add to the expected numbers. Moreover, most businesses renew in April, and property, fire, and third-party motor insurance premiums undergo correction to improve the sales of the policies in the upcoming fiscal year.”

The state-owned general insurers generated Rs. 4,940 crore in premium capital in April 2015, which is a 10.5% increase from the previous year. The private insurers augmented their premium collection by 12% to Rs 4,073 crore in the same month. The standalone health insurers saw a whopping 50% increase with an earning of Rs. 255 crore in April 2015 unlike the previous year monthly revenues clocked at Rs. 172 crore. 

Mr. A. K. Saxena, Chairman & M.D., Oriental Insurance Company commented, “With improvement in economy, the stalled projects have begun to receive the funding again, and new projects are being launched. Subsequently, I hope the current fiscal year will prove to be intense for the sector, as we prepare ourselves to cross the Rs 1,00,000 crore target during this year.”    

Mr. G. Srinivasan, Chairman & M.D., New India Assurance agreed with Mr. Saxena, and further added, “I anticipate a 14-15% growth in the current fiscal year. Most likely the growth drivers will be obligatory third party motor insurance companies including fire and property insurers, especially as IRDA have revised the rates.” 

Mr. Milind Kharat, CMD, United India Insurance is delighted to announce the current growth rate of over 12%, with the recorded revenue of Rs 11,800 crore in FY 15 as compared to the total premium worth Rs 10,692 crore in 2014-15. He said, “I’m optimistic the sector will cross the Rs 1-Trillion target in Current Fiscal Year, driven by motor and health insurance. Our health insurance premium grew by 20% while motor insurance grew by 12% in April 15 at Rs 11,800 crore, against the recorder growth of Rs 10,692 crore in previous year.”

Lastly, specialized insurers like Agriculture Insurance Company and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation have also witnessed a positive 8% growth in their premium income in April 2015. It is a respite from the year-long negative growth in FY-14-15, as per the officials.

Source: This news was published on May 20, 2015 in economictimes.indiatimes.com under the title: “General insurance industry may cross Rs 1-trillion mark this fiscal”