General Insurance Industry witnesses PAT declines by 90% in FY19

The general insurance industry witnessed its profit after tax (PAT) in FY19 down 90% to Rs 683 crore compared to a PAT of Rs 6,909 in FY18, according to IRDAI report. The public sector general insurance firms registered a loss of Rs 3,228 crore in FY19 as opposed to a PAT of Rs 2,543 crore in FY18. While the state-owned general insurers suffered huge losses, the private sector insurers reported 5% decline in profits in FY19 at Rs 3,584 crore compared to Rs 3,798 crore in FY18. Also, the underwriting losses of the general insurance industry increased to Rs 22,320 crore in FY19 from Rs 15,341 crore, a jump of 45%. While the private general insurers reported a 38% jump in their underwriting losses to Rs 2,890 crore, the public sector general insurers underwriting losses increased 47% to Rs 18,533 crore. On the other hand, the life insurance industry reported a PAT of Rs 8,435.81 crore as against Rs 8,511.99 crore in FY18. Of the 24 life insurers in operations, 22 firms reported profits.