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State-run general insurers have ceded market share to their private sector peers, according to data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
The data reveals that barring Oriental Insurance, the other three state-run general insurers lost market share in 2018-19. The trend seems to be continuing this fiscal year as well.
Public sector general insurers’ business increased by 1.28 per cent in 2018-19 as against private insurers, who grew 24.25 per cent, according to the IRDAI Annual Report for 2018-19. “In the case of public sector general insurers, two of the four companies expanded their business with increase in respective premium collections over the previous year,” the report noted, adding that the market share of all PSU general insurers, except Oriental Insurance, decreased.
Their combined market share fell to 40.52 per cent in 2018-19 with gross direct premium income of ₹68,658.85 crore from 45 per cent in 2017-18.
New India Assurance remained the largest insurance company in the country last fiscal with direct premium collections of ₹23,910 crore.
In contrast, the 28 private sector insurers (excluding standalone health insurers) had a market share of 47.97 per cent in 2018-19 (with gross direct premium income of ₹81,287.15 crore) as against 43.42 per cent in the previous fiscal year.
The market share of New India Assurance fell to 14.11 per cent in 2018-19 from 15.08 per cent in the previous year. For National Insurance, the market share fell to 8.93 per cent in 2018-19 from 10.75 per cent in 2016-17. Similarly, the market share of United India Insurance declined to 9.69 per cent in 2018-19 from 11.57 per cent in the previous fiscal y ear.
Oriental Insurance Company’s market share, however, rose to 7.79 per cent in 2018-19 as against 7.6 per cent in 2016-17.
Market share in 2019-20
The latest data shows that these four public sector general insurers lost more ground by November this year although they continued to grow at a healthy pace. The market share of National Insurance was 8.02 per cent by November 2019, for New India Assurance, it was 14.25 per cent and for United India it was 8.69 per cent.
Oriental Insurance, saw its share decline to 7.15 per cent by November.
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