Premium
The general insurance industry underwrote total direct premium of Rs.128128 crore in India for the year 2016-17 as against Rs.96379 crore in 2015-16, registering a growth rate of 32.94 percent as against 13.81 percent recorded in the previous year.
The public sector insurers exhibited a growth in 2016-17 at 26.27 percent over the previous year’s growth rate of 12.08 percent. The private general insurers registered a growth rate of 35.55 percent against 13.12 percent growth rate during the previous year.
The standalone health insurers registered a growth rate of 41.06 percent against 41.12 percent growth rate during the previous year and the specialized insurers registered a growth rate of 70.33 percent as against the growth 18.04 percent during the previous year.
The premium underwritten by private sector insurers (including standalone health insurers) in 2016-17 was Rs.59663 crore as against Rs.43847 crore in 2015-16. ICICI Lombard continued to be the largest private sector general insurance company, with a market share of 8.37 percent in the current year against a market share of 8.39 percent in the previous year. Bajaj Allianz, the second largest private sector general insurance company, which underwrote a total premium of Rs.7633 crore, reported a decrease in market share from 6.05 percent in 2015-16 to 5.96 percent during the year under review. All the 24 private insurers operating in the year 2016-17, reported an increase in premium underwritten for the year 2016-17.
In the case of public sector general insurers, all four companies expanded their business with an increase in premium collections. However, the market shares of all the public sector insurers decreased from those of previous year. The market share of Oriental declined to 8.43 percent in 2016-17 from 8.63 percent in the previous year, National Insurance declined to 11.11 percent in 2016-17 from 12.43 percent in the previous year, New India declined to 14.92 percent in 2016-17 from 15.72 percent in the previous year and United India Insurance declined to 12.54 percent in 2016-17 from 12.71 percent in the previous year. New India, which collected Direct Premium of Rs.19115 crore, once again remained as the largest general insurance company in India.
GROSS DIRECT PREMIUM INCOME IN INDIA
GENERAL AND HEALTH INSURERS
| Insurer | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | Growth Rate (2015-16) | Growth Rate (2016-17) |
|---|
| Public Sector Insurers | 47690.68 | 60218.36 | 12.08% | 26.27% |
| Private Sector Insurers | 39694.08 | 53804.96 | 13.12% | 35.55% |
| Standalone Health Insurers | 4152.66 | 5857.83 | 41.12% | 41.06% |
| Specialized Insurers | 4841.95 | 8247.19 | 18.04% | 70.33% |
| Total | 96379.37 | 128128.34 | 13.81% | 32.94% |
Note: Figure in percentage indicates growth over previous year.
Segment-wise premium
The Motor business continued to be the largest general insurance segment with a share of 39.22 percent (43.89 percent in 2015-16). It reported a growth rate of 18.79 percent (13.17 percent in 2015-16). The premium collection in Health segment continued to surge ahead at Rs.34,527 crore in 2016-17 from Rs.27,457 crore of 2015-16, registering growth of 25.75 percent. However, the share of health segment has decreased to 26.95 percent from 28.49 percent of previous year. The premium collection from Fire increased by 9.24 percent and for Marine segments, it decreased by 2.24 percent in 2016-17 whereas for the previous year the growth rate in the Fire and Marine segments were 8.35 percent and -1.19 percent respectively.
PREMIUM (WITHIN INDIA) UNDERWRITTEN BY GENERAL AND HEALTH INSURERS SEGMENT-WISE
| Segment | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | Growth Rate (2015-16) | Growth Rate (2016-17) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire | 8731.46 | 9538.01 | 9.06% | 7.44% |
| Marine | 2984.38 | 2917.47 | 3.10% | 2.28% |
| Motor | 42300.86 | 50250.53 | 43.89% | 39.22% |
| Health | 27457.30 | 34526.61 | 28.49% | 26.95% |
| Others | 14905.37 | 30895.72 | 15.47% | 24.11% |
| Total Premium | 96379.37 | 128128.34 | 13.81% | 32.94% |
Note: 1. Figures in percentage indicate the ratio ( in percent) of respective segment.
2. The above figures include premium of specialised insurers and Standalone Health Insurers
Health includes Personal Accident and Travel Insurance
Premium Underwritten Outside India
All public sector insurers (except United India) are underwriting general insurance business outside India. United India ceased operations outside India in 2003-04. The total premium underwritten outside the country by the three public sector insurers stood at Rs.2,842 crore in 2016-17 as against Rs.2,954 crore in 2015-16 registering a decline of 3.79 percent against 19.79 percent growth in the previous year. The premium underwritten outside India accounted for 2.17 percent of total premium underwritten by the general insurers (including specialized insurers and standalone health insurers) whereas it was 2.97 percent in the previous year.
New India continued to be the largest public sector general insurer in terms of premium underwritten outside India. The overseas premium constitutes 11.50 percent of the total premium underwritten by the insurer in 2016-17(14.71 percent in 2015-16). In case of Oriental, it is 2.82 percent in 2016-17 (3.45 percent in 2015-16). National Insurance continued to have a small component of overseas business at 0.31 percent in 2016-17 (0.36 percent reported in 2015-16).
Of the total premium of Rs.2842 crore underwritten outside India in 2016-17, New India underwrote a higher premium of Rs.2483 crore (Rs.2614 crore in 2015-16), its market share in the total outside India premium of general insurers decreased to 87.38 percent in 2016-17 from 88.50 percent in 2015-16. National Insurance underwrote a premium of Rs.45 crore in 2016-17 (Rs.43 crore in 2015-16). The outside India premium underwritten by Oriental Insurance stood at Rs.314 crore, higher than previous year’s Rs.297 crore, recording a 5.67 percent growth. Private General Insurance Companies have not written any premium outside India.
RATIO OF OUTSIDE INDIA PREMIUM TO TOTAL PREMIUM
| Insurer | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
|---|---|---|
| National | 0.36 | 0.31 |
| New India | 14.71 | 11.50 |
| Oriental | 3.45 | 2.82 |
| United | 0.00 | 0.00 |
GROSS DIRECT PREMIUM FROM BUSINESS OUTSIDE INDIA
| Insurer | 2015-16 (Rs. crore) | 2016-17 (Rs. crore) | 2015-16 % | 2016-17 % |
|---|
| National | 42.91 | 44.83 | 5.30% | 4.48% |
| New India | 2613.80 | 2483.22 | 15.10% | -5.00% |
| Oriental | 296.85 | 313.68 | 92.80% | 5.67% |
| United | 0.00 | 0.00 | — | — |
| Total | 2953.56 | 2841.73 | 19.79% | -3.79% |
Note : Figures in percentage indicate the growth over previous year.
Number of policies issued
The general insurers (Excluding Standalone Health Insurers) underwrote 1525.33 lakh policies in financial year 2016-17 against 1257.61 lakh policies underwritten in financial year 2015-16, reporting an increase of 21.28 percent over financial year 2015-16. The public sector insurers witnessed an increase in the number of policies issued. They reported a 27 percent increase in the number of policies issued during the financial year 2016-17 as compared to a 0.96 percent decrease in financial year 2015-16. The private sector insurers reported an increase of 13.65 percent in the number of policies issued in the financial year 2016-17 (8.84 percent in the financial year 2015-16). The Specialized insurers reported an increase of 30.96 percent in the number policies issued during the financial year 2016-17 (214.95 percent in the financial year 2015-16)
NUMBER OF POLICIES ISSUED GENERAL INSURERS*
| Insurer | 2015-16 (Rs. crore) | 2016-17 (Rs. crore) | 2015-16 % | 2016-17 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Sector | 671.32 | 852.62 | (-0.96) | (27.01) |
| Private Sector | 549.44 | 624.45 | (8.84) | (13.65) |
| Specialised | 36.85 | 48.26 | (214.95) | (30.96) |
| Total | 1257.61 | 1525.33 | (5.28) | (21.28) |
* Excluding stand-alone Health Insurers
Note: Figures in brackets indicate the growth (in percent) over previous year
Paid-up Capital
I.3.38 The total paid-up capital of general insurers and re-insurers as on 31st March, 2016 was Rs.12064.77 crore. During 2016-17, the general insurers and re-insurers added Rs.1063.05 crore to their equity capital base. Public sector insurers did not infuse capital whereas specialized insurer ECGC Ltd. infused a further capital of Rs.150 crore. Private sector general insurers infused a further capital to the extent of Rs.385.72 crore. Standalone health insurers infused a capital of Rs.258.39 crore. The private sector re-insurer i.e. ITI Reinsurance Ltd. registered during 2016-17 infused capital of Rs.268.94 crore.
PAID-UP CAPITAL : GENERAL, HEALTH INSURERS AND REINSURERS
(Rs. crore)
| Segment | 2015-16 (Rs. crore) | 2016-17 (Rs. crore) |
|---|
| General Insurers |
| Public Sector | 650.00 | 650.00 |
| Private Sector | 7127.76 | 7513.48 |
| Sub Total | 7777.76 | 8163.48 |
| Standalone Health Insurers |
| Public Sector | N.A. | N.A. |
| Private Sector | 2357.01 | 2615.40 |
| Sub Total | 2357.01 | 2615.40 |
| Specialized Insurers |
| Public Sector | 1500.00 | 1650.00 |
| Private Sector | N.A. | N.A. |
| Sub Total | 1500.00 | 1650.00 |
| Reinsurers |
| Public Sector | 430.00 | 430.00 |
| Private Sector | 0.00 | 268.94 |
| Sub Total | 430.00 | 698.94 |
| Grand Total | 12064.77 | 13127.82 |
Branches of Foreign Re-insurers
including Lloyd’s India 0.00 1117.81*
*assigned capital NA:- Not applicable
Other Forms of Capital
Pursuant to the powers given under Section 6A(1)(i) of The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015 and in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 114A of the Insurance Act, and Section 26 of the IRDA Act, 1999, the Authority has notified IRDAI (Other Forms of Capital) Regulations, 2016.
Under the provisions of said Regulations, the General insurance industry raised Other Forms of Capital in the form of Non-convertible Redeemable Debentures amounting to Rs.2281 crore during 2016-17, whereas in the year 2015-16 other Forms of Capital raised was Nil. Out of four public sector insurers, National Insurance Co. Ltd. raised Other Forms of Capital by issue of Debentures of Rs. 895 crore. Six private sector insurers (including Standalone Health Insurers) raised Other Forms of Capital by issue of Debenture which includes Cigna TTK, HDFC Ergo (Formerly known as L&T General), ICICI Lombard, Reliance General, Royal Sundaram and Tata AIG who raised debenture of Rs. 43 crore, Rs. 350 crore, Rs. 485 crore, Rs. 230 crore, Rs. 100 crore and Rs. 178 crore respectively.
Seven newly registered branches of foreign reinsurers infused assigned capital during the year 2016-17 to the extent of Rs.1117.81 crore.
Underwriting Experience
The underwriting losses of the general insurance companies increased to Rs.18840 crore in 2016-17 from Rs.14959 crore in the previous year. The underwriting losses increased by 25.94 percent over previous year. The losses of public sector insurers’ increased by 43.89 percent to Rs.15591 crore in 2016-17 from Rs.10835 crore in 2015-16. The private sector insurers reported a decrease in underwriting losses which is Rs.2949 crore in 2016-17 from Rs.3664 crore in 2015-16. Standalone health insurers reported a significant decrease in underwriting losses in 2016-17 which is Rs.87 crore as compared to underwriting loss of Rs.272 crores in 2015-16.
The underwriting losses of specialized insurers increased to Rs.214 crore in 2016-17 from Rs.188 crore in 2015-16.The ratio of underwriting profit/loss to net earned premium for public sector insurers, private sector insurers, standalone health insurers and specialised insurers in 2016-17 was -0.32, -0.09, -0.02 and – 0.07 respectively as compared to -0.25, -0.13, -0.09 and -0.06 respectively in the previous year 2015-16. The ratio of underwriting profit/loss to net earned premium for general insurance industry in 2016-17 was -0.21 as compared to -0.20 in the year 2015-16
UNDERWRITING EXPERIENCE GENERAL AND HEALTH INSURERS
(Rs. crore)
| Insurer | 2015-16 (Rs. crore) | 2016-17 (Rs. crore) | 2015-16 (Ratio) | 2016-17 (Ratio) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Sector Insurers | -10834.80 | -15590.71 | (-0.25) | (-0.32) |
| Private Sector Insurers | -3663.83 | -2948.83 | (-0.13) | (-0.09) |
| Standalone Health Insurers | -272.25 | -86.51 | (-0.09) | (-0.02) |
| Specialized Insurers | -188.08 | -214.36 | (-0.06) | (-0.07) |
| Total | -14958.96 | -18840.41 | (-0.20) | (-0.21) |
Note: Figures in brackets indicate ratio of underwriting profit/loss to net earned premium
(Underwriting Profit/Loss = Premium Earned (Net)-Claim Incurred (Net)-Commission-Operating Expenses related to Insurance Business-Premium Deficiency).
Courtesy : IRDA Annual Report
