SBI General collects total premium of Rs 771 cr in FY13

Targets top-line growth in excess of 140% this fiscal

SBI General Insurance Company (SBI General), the general insurance arm of State Bank of India (SBI), collected total premium Income of Rs.771 Crores during the financial year 2012-13, registering a growth of 208 per cent, year-on-year.

Bhaskar J Sarma, MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance said, "We are going slow in the first two to three years and are taking small but firm steps. While market share and top-line are important, we are not functioning for their sake only. We expanded our branch network to 38 locations pan-India and presence in another 120 locations through satellite resources during the last FY.  We propose to expand our presence to another 25-30 more locations during the current FY."

The company has posted a net loss of Rs 140 crore for the financial year, as against a budgeted loss of Rs 165 crores. Their combined ratio stood at 201 per cent. Their underwriting loss stood at Rs 215 crore for 2012-13.  

For the present fiscal, the general insurer has a budgeted gross written premium target of Rs 1800 crore. Sarma said that they are looking to increase their overall market share to about 2 per cent, from the present one per cent. The company is aiming to reduce its net loss to Rs 85.5 crore by the end of this fiscal.

SBI General also launched a health insurance product which offers the facility of location based premium for customers. The premiums for availing treatment at a non-metro city would be lower than that availed in a metro city.