Bharti AXA General Insurance posts Rs 3 cr profit in FY'19

Bharti AXA General Insurance Monday said it has posted a maiden profit of Rs 3 crore for the financial year ended March 2019.

The private sector insurer, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and French insurance major AXA, had registered a loss of Rs 92.6 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company recorded a 29 per cent increase in its gross written premium (GWP) at Rs 2,285 crore in the financial year 2018-19 from Rs 1,772 crore in 2017-18.

Driven by growth across all product segments and all channels of distribution, the company achieved healthy top line performance against an overall industry growth of 12.9 per cent and private sector growth of 25 per cent in the financial year ended March 31, 2019, Bharti AXA General Insurance said in a statement.

The first-ever full-year profitability has been achieved by expanding the distribution network, adding number of strategic distribution partnerships and business alliances and diversification of product lines, Bharti AXA General Insurance CEO Sanjeev Srinivasan said.

"We will continue to focus on channel and segment diversification, productivity and prudent expense management to drive growth in years to come," he said.

Health, personal accident and travel category products recorded a 125 per cent growth at Rs 334 crore in 2018-19 as against Rs 149 crore in the previous fiscal, the statement said.

Commercial lines saw a 70 per cent growth at Rs 288 crore as against Rs 170 crore in 2017-18.

Motor insurance, which accounts for over 50 per cent of the business, grew by 6 per cent to Rs 1,143 crore from Rs 1,075 crore in the previous fiscal.