National Insurance FY11 premium income up 32 percent


New Delhi: National Insurance Company has said it has clocked a 32.32 percent growth in its total premium income to 6,115 crore in 2010-11, with major business coming from health and motor segment. "Our premium income has increased to Rs 6,115 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2011, from Rs 4,625 crore in the previous year," National Insurance CMD N S R Chandraprasad told PTI. The company has added new customers, which resulted in the record new business premium income during the fiscal. "During the fiscal we have earned new business premium worth Rs 1,490 crore, which is a record level. Health and motor insurance segments saw the maximum number of additions," he said. When asked if the company's solvency margin is adequate to support the proposed increase in provisioning requirement for motor insurance covers, Chandraprasad said National Insurance is well capitalised. "We do not need any capital infusion at present. Although the hike in provisioning would impact the balance sheets of insurers, but our solvency margin is already good," he added. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has proposed to increase provisioning requirement for insurers providing motor insurance covers. IRDA had increased the provisions made for motor pool to 153 per cent of book value for the four years till March 31, 2010, against 126 per cent maintained by companies. This is aimed at enhancing solvency margins and make higher provisioning for third-party motor pool. Solvency margin is the minimum surplus on the insurer's assets over liability set by the regulator and the insurance companies are estimated to have provided about Rs 3,500 crore till March 31, 2010, for maintaining this margin.
Source: PTI