Non-life insurers' premium income rise 11.35% YoY in May to Rs 12,316 cr

Month-on-month, premium income declines 28.84% from April levels

Non-life insurers have reported an 11.35 per cent rise in gross direct premium income in May, over the same period last year, which was marred by a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Insurers collected premiums of Rs 12,316.5 crore this May, compared to Rs 11,061.02 crore in May 2020.

But, sequentially (month-on-month) the premium collected by non-life insurers in May dropped 28.84 per cent compared to April, indicating a disruption their business due to localised lockdowns imposed by authorities due to the second wave of the pandemic. In April, the insurers had amassed premiums of Rs 17,309.54 crore.

Among non-life insurers, premium income of general insurers rose 7.17 per cent YoY to Rs 10,822.7 crore in May but contracted by 32.13 per cent month-on-month. There are 25 general insurers in the country, which includes four state-owned insurers and 21 private insurers.

Standalone health insurers, on the other hand, reported a 66 per cent YoY jump in premiums to Rs 1,406.44 crore in May. Compared to last month, their premium income has risn almost 12 per cent.

In FY22 so far, non-life insurers’ premium income has gone up by 17.5 per cent YoY to Rs 29, 626 crore while general insurers’ premium income is up 14 per cent YoY. Standalone health insurers, on the other hand, have seen a stellar 61 per cent YoY growth in premiums to Rs 2,665.87 crore.

Rating agency ICRA in its note has said, the general insurance industry is expected to grow by 7-9 per cent in terms of premiums in FY22, supported by growth in the health segment and an uptick in the motor segment. PSU insurers are expected to report marginal GDPI growth of 4-5 per cent in FY22 as most of the public insurers remain stretched on their solvency profile given reported losses, the report further said.