ICICI Lombard General Insurance on Friday posted a 35% year-on-year rise in its net profit to Rs 415.74 crore for the second quarter of the current financial year. The non-life insurer also saw an improved combined ratio and a surge in gross direct premium income (GDPI) in the quarter under review.
The company’s GDPI stood at Rs 3,189 crore in Q2FY21, compared with Rs 2,953 crore in Q2FY20, a growth of 8%. Excluding the crop segment, GDPI increased to Rs 3,186 crore, compared with Rs 2,898 crore in the year-ago period, registering a growth of 9.9%. This was higher than the industry growth (excluding crop segment) of 9.2%.
Bhargav Dasgupta, managing director and CEO of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, said: “In terms of performance, large part of the growth in profit after tax (PAT) was driven by better underwriting. We also had a good quarter in terms of investment income and because of our business growth, we are
also seeing growth in investment income.”
ICICI Lombard reported underwriting profits in fire, motor and the miscellaneous retail segment in the second quarter.
The combined ratio was at 99.7% in the latest quarter, against 102.6% in Q2FY20. Excluding the impact of flood and cyclone losses of Rs 46 crore, the combined ratio was at 97.9% in Q2FY21, against 100.7% in the same period last year excluding the impact of cyclone and flood losses of Rs 45 crore.
However, health retail, health group and corporate saw underwriting losses in Q2. ICICI Lombard General Insurance has paid about 14,000 Covid-19 claims, out of about 17,000 intimated as of now. “What we are seeing is that it is the same picture for the whole industry. If you look at the September numbers, we had seen serious spike in claims intimated. Having said that, from October onwards, there seems tapering off, which is a positive sign, Dasgupta said.
The solvency ratio was 2.74x on September 30, against 2.50x on June 30, higher than the minimum regulatory requirement of 1.50x. The stock of ICICI Lombard GI on Friday ended at Rs 1,257.50, up by 0.08% or Rs 1.05 on BSE.
