The Indian general insurance industry is likely to grow by around 20 per cent per annum in the coming years because of increasing penetration, a top official of New India Assurance said.

“Despite slowdown in economy, the general insurance industry has grown by around 20 per cent in the recent past.

We hope the industry will see similar growth in the coming years,” Chairman and Managing Director of New India Assurance G Srinivasan said.

The penetration of the general insurance in India stands at around 0.7 per cent, lower than the global average of 1.5 to 4 per cent.

Recently, the finance ministry had asked the industry to come up with proposals for increasing the penetration.

As to the total premium, Srinivasan said it should go up by at least four times in the next 10 years.

Presently, the total premium of the industry is around Rs 60,000 crore, with a growth of around 20 per cent per annum.

About major challenges before the industry, Srinivasan said it will have to reduce the underwriting losses.

New India Assurance, the largest general insurer of the country, crossed Rs 10,000 crore mark in premium collection in the last financial year and aims to touch a global premium of Rs 12,000 crore in the current financial year.

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