General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re), India’s sole domestic re-insurer, has reported a marginal drop (4 per cent) in profitability at ₹2,253 crore in the fiscal ended March 2014, compared with ₹2,345 crore in the year-ago period.
Premium collection GIC Re also reported a marginal decline in gross premium collection at ₹14,680 crore from ₹15,086 crore in the previous year, as the insurance regulator halved the requirement of compulsory ceding of re-insurance business by domestic general insurers to 5 per cent (of premium collected) from 10 per cent earlier.
“Last year has been very good for re-insurers globally with no major catastrophes. We have been trimming our exposure in loss-making portfolios to focus on profitability,” said Ashok Kumar Roy, Chairman and Managing Director, GIC Re.
GIC Re is also evaluating ways to acquire a syndicate in Lloyds, London. Lloyds is the world’s leading insurance syndicate, where multiple financial backers, known as underwriters, or members, both individuals and corporations, come together to pool and spread risk.
Roy said the reinsurer is also evaluating the feasibility of issuing catastrophe bonds (Cat bonds) in the domestic and overseas markets.