General insurance premium grows 5.5% in August

The general insurance sector has managed to show a positive premium growth in August, but the numbers are unlikely to bring any cheer to the industry. For August, the general insurance sector collected a total premium of Rs 13,140 crore, a growth of just 5.5 percent when compared to same month last year. The growth in the general insurance sector between April to August 2020 also hasn’t moved anywhere as it remains almost flat. On the contrary, the awareness around having a health insurance policy during the times of COVID-19 has done really well for the standalone health insurance sector. Standalone health insurers, in August, saw their premiums growing by 36.5 percent which compares to an average growth of 23 percent seen in the first four months of FY21. ICICI Lombard General Insurance was one company which out performed the industry growth. Premiums for the insurer grew by almost 12 percent in August which compares to a drop of 2.8 percent seen in the first four months of FY21. The insurer also gained market share by 27 bps in the period between April to August 2020. New India Assurance remained an under-performer in August. The total premium collection by the insurer in August dropped by almost 5 percent on a year-on-year basis. This compares to an average premium growth of 7.1 percent which it saw in first four months of FY21. On the positive, New India Assurance also gained market share by slightly over 100 bps in the period between April to August 2020. It was a disappointing month for Bajaj Allianz General Insurance as the insurer saw its premiums in August dropping by slightly over 9 percent which compares to an average growth of about 13 percent in the first four months of FY21. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance gained a total market share of 64 bps between April to August 2020. Out of the three PSU general insurance companies, United India was the only company which showed a premium growth of 28 percent in August. Premiums for both National Insurance Company and Oriental Insurance dropped by 5 percent and 15 percent respectively in August.