Motor pool losses hit state-owned insurers the most

Though the four state-owned general insurance players have been the most vocal critics of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's (Irda) proposal to wind up the commercial third-party motor pool, data on motor pool losses show these companies were bearing additional losses on account of the existing pool mechanism.

On the other hand, a few small private sector players have been gaining at the cost of both the public sector, as well as large private insurance companies.

This aberration is because companies have to contribute to the third-party pool based on the overall market share in all lines of business. When it comes to using the pool, there has been no direct correlation between what they contribute and what they take, in terms of underwriting to the pool, including claims and losses.

According to Irda, during 2010-11, total motor pool losses of the four state owned players — New India Assurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company, National Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company — stood at Rs 489 crore, against the actual loss of Rs 341 crore. In contrast, the private sector's motor pool loss was Rs 341 crore, against the actual loss of Rs 490 crore. This means, the state-owned insurers had to incur an additional loss of Rs 149 crore under the pool mechanism, which translated into a gain for the private sector.

Of the motor insurance business, 'pool only' premiums accounted for Rs 3,519 crore, or 21 per cent of the total business, the profitable 'own damage' (OD) policies accounted for 64 per cent, or Rs 10,770 crore, and third-party premiums for personal transport vehicles and bikes (other than pool) was Rs 2,582 crore (15 per cent).

Losses in the third-party motor pool were greater, owing to higher loss ratios, higher claims and higher claim frequencies in the private sector, according to the data. The third-party pool loss ratio was 133.5 per cent, compared with 85 per cent in the 'other-than third-party' pool, and only 55 per cent in the OD business. The average claim size was Rs 188,665 for government-owned companies and Rs 199,023 for private companies, with claim frequency at 0.33 and 0.57, respectively.