GIC Re's net profit up by 5.4% to Rs 2,848 cr

Driven by strong gross written premium, the state-owned reinsurer, GIC Re's net profit increased by 5.4 per cent to Rs 2,848 crore in the fiscal year ending March 31.
The company had registered a net profit of Rs 2,694 crore in the previous fiscal.
In terms of the gross written premium, the national reinsurer registered a growth of 21.4 per cent at Rs 18,436 crore in the reporting year from Rs 15,183 crore in the year-ago period.
However, the incurred claim of the company rose to Rs 8,046 crore in the reporting year from Rs 6,885 crore in the year-ago period.

Similarly, investment income of the company in the reporting year remained flat at Rs 4,237 crore from Rs 4,256 crore in the year-ago period.
The company has already sent its plan for listing to the government.

"Our board has approved the listing plan and we have sent the same to the government and now it was upto the government to take further action on the subject," GIC Re chairman and managing director, Alice G Vaidyan told media her today.
She added the company plans to become the world's second largest agriculture reinsurer after its participation in the Pradhan mantra Fasal Bima Yojana, a universal crop insurance scheme which became operational since April 1.

"Our share as reinsurer in PMFBY is already at 30-40 per cent. However, we want to make it to above 50 per cent by the fiscal end so as to become the world's second largest reinsurer, she said.
The combined ratio of the company in the reporting year was at 107 per cent from 110 per cent a year ago.
Underwriting loss of the company came down to Rs 1,183
crore in the reporting year, from Rs 1,394 crore a year ago.
On expansion plan, Vaidyan said that GIC Re was planning to have its branches in the USA and China in the long term. Its representative office in Moscow has already been converted to a 100 per cent subsidiary.

Talking about the new areas, GIC Re was planning to enter, she said, "We have plans to enter areas like cyber insurance and standalone terrorism cover."
Commenting on the premium split between the domestic and the overseas business, which was at 55 per cent and 45 respectively in the fiscal 2016, she said that "we have plans to make it to 50:50 in next few years."
She also said that GIC Re was open to inorganic growth plan.
"Inorganic growth is also there on our cards. However, we are waiting for right opportunity for the same," she said.
GIC Re has recently bagged the ONGC reinsurance account, which has seen stiff competition in the market.

"GIC Re will now target leadership of more mega risk companies in the international market. The company has already got leadership in such segment in the country," she said.
The company's solvency ratio currently stands at 3.48. During fiscal 2016, GIC Re operationalised the India Nuclear Insurance Pool for the country's nuclear power industry.