Bharti AXA sees 45% growth this financial year

Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited expects its business to grow by 40-45 per cent this year in the event of a dip in vehicle sales, as compared to a 60 per cent growth in gross written premium at Rs 892 crore achieved last year, according to its chief executive and managing director Amarnath Ananthanarayanan.

A relatively new-player in the non-life sector, Bharti AXA, which launched its operations in July 2008, garners 70 per cent of its overall business from motor vehicle insurance followed by 18 per cent from health and personal accident and 12 per cent from the commercial lines segment.

“We anticipate upwards of 50 per cent growth, But we expect over 40 per cent if the vehicle sales fall,” Ananthanarayanan said here on Tuesday.

The company is currently focusing on capturing the real needs of the customers in the health insurance sector by offering attractive products in cashless treatment and critical illnesses, besides pushing lifestyle protection policies, according to him.

The company plans to infuse between Rs 150 crore and Rs 200 crore fresh capital in the current year depending on the requirement, he said. It has so far infused in Rs 850 crore capital into its operations.

In another initiative, the company has tied up with about 150 cooperative banks and other agencies to sell livelihood protection policies that come with an annual premium of Rs 500-Rs 600 in rural and semi urban areas.

“We got about Rs 80-lakh business through livelihood protection policies last year and we expect to increase the business four-fold in the current year,” said Subrahmanyam B, senior vice-president (health, commercial lines and reinsurance business) of the company.

The company is also planning to add five more insurance products this year, mostly in health cover, to the existing 56 products in the market.