Comments
New India Assurance Company (NIAC) has increased premium rates for its retail health policy by 25 per cent this fiscal.
According to C Narambunathan, general manager and financial advisor, NIAC, the hike, which came into effect in April, was essential to bring down the loss ratio and improve profitability.
Health insurance, including group, retail and government business, accounts for nearly 26 per cent of the insurer’s total domestic premium, which stood at close to ₹19,000 crore in 2016-17. While group health schemes account for nearly 55 per cent, the share of retail is close to 35 per cent.
“We have 18.4 per cent share in the health insurance market at present. We want to concentrate more on the retail health segment,” Narambunathan said at an interactive session organised by the Merchants Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Monday.
The public sector insurer, which is set to tap the capital market with an initial public offering in the first week of November, had reported an underwriting loss of around ₹3,500 crore and was advised by the government to bring it down through corrective measures.
“The government was concerned with the retail health and advised us to take corrective measure. Our profit was impacted primarily due to health and motor businesses,” he said.
With the corrective measures in place, the loss ratio in the health portfolio, which was around 114 per cent last year, has already come down to around 92 per cent, he said. The company expects to bring it down to around 85-87 per cent by the end of this financial year.
Crop InsuranceThe crop insurance market being very volatile in nature, New India would go for more of reinsurance to disperse the risks associated with it.
In 2016-17, the insurer, which only participated in Rabi season for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY), had a premium collection of around ₹1,046 crore.
This year, in the ensuing Kharif season, the company’s total collection from crop insurance has been around ₹1,000 crore. However nearly 80 per cent of the insurance is in the form of reinsurance, he pointed out.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.