Rel General crosses over Rs 1,000 cr premium in H1

Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance General Insurance has achieved a premium collection of more than Rs 1,000 crore in the first half of this fiscal, making it the fastest growing non-life insurer among the top-five private players.

The premium collection of over Rs 1,000 crore during six months period is the fastest since the inception of the company, Reliance General Insurance CEO K A Somasekharan said.

"Focus on retail and enhanced distribution network contributed to the growth," he said.

According to the preliminary data of the General Insurance Council, Reliance General recorded maximum growth among the top 5 private players during April-September period.

The company logged growth of 6 per cent at Rs 1,046 crore during the first half of 2009-10 compared to Rs 986 crore in the same period previous fiscal.

However, the largest private sector player ICICI Lombard, according to the data, recorded a decline of 16 per cent in premium collection.

ICICI Lombard collected premium of Rs 1,612 crore in the first half of the fiscal against Rs 1,925 crore in the same period last year.

At the same time, premium collection of Bajaj Allianz shrunk by 14 per cent to Rs 1,218 crore from Rs 1,416 crore in the same period a year ago.

Other top private sector players like Tata AIG General Insurance also registered a negative growth of 7 per cent, while Iffco-Tokio's portfolio grew by 5 per cent at Rs 751 crore.