 "ICICI Lombard Q2 net profit rises 35% on improved underwriting practices")
Private sector general insurer ICICI Lombard General Insurance reported a 35 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 416 crore in Q2FY21, compared to Rs 308 crore in the same period last year, driven by improved underwriting practices. Profits were also aided by the investment income which rose more than 8 per cent.
The company reported a combined ratio of 99.7 per cent in Q2FY21, compared to 102.6 per cent in Q2FY20. Combined ratio is the measure of profitability of a general insurance company.
Premiums underwritten by the insurer in Q2FY21 were up 8 per cent at Rs 3,189 crore, compared to Rs 2,953 crore in the same period last year.
Solvency ratio of the insurer improved to 2.74 at the end of September 2020, compared to 2.26 in the same period last year despite a rise in Covid claims and non-Covid claims picking up pace.
“In September, we have seen a severe spike in Covid claim intimation. Claims intimated in September are close to 50 per cent of the total claims intimated since the start of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. However, from October, there is some tapering, which is a positive sign. We have already paid about 14,000 Covid claims out of 17,000 claims we received,” said Bhargav Dasgupta, MD&CEO, ICICI Lombard General Insurance.
“We are seeing a month-on-month improvement for the industry. The second quarter has been much better than the first and the industry, in aggregate, has grown slightly over the last year. As a company, our growth this year was roughly 8 per cent over the same period last year. Overall, things are looking positive in terms of growth,” he added.
While there is a lot of demand in the auto sector due to the festive season, the management said, whether or not the demand sustains is something that needs to be watched. The concern, which the management sees at this point in time, is a second spike in the number of Covid cases.
The insurer’s shares closed 0.08 per cent lower at Rs 1,257.50 on the BSE.
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