ICICI Lombard Q2 net profit rises 35% on improved underwriting practices

 

Private sector general insurer ICICI Lombard General Insurance reported a 35 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 416 crore in Q2FY21, compared to Rs 308 crore in the same period last year, driven by improved underwriting practices. Profits were also aided by the investment income which rose more than 8 per cent.

The company reported a combined ratio of 99.7 per cent in Q2FY21, compared to 102.6 per cent in Q2FY20. Combined ratio is the measure of profitability of a general insurance company.

Premiums underwritten by the insurer in Q2FY21 were up 8 per cent at Rs 3,189 crore, compared to Rs 2,953 crore in the same period last year.

Solvency ratio of the insurer improved to 2.74 at the end of September 2020, compared to 2.26 in the same period last year despite a rise in Covid claims and non-Covid claims picking up pace.

“In September, we have seen a severe spike in Covid claim intimation. Claims intimated in September are close to 50 per cent of the total claims intimated since the start of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. However, from October, there is some tapering, which is a positive sign. We have already paid about 14,000 Covid claims out of 17,000 claims we received,” said Bhargav Dasgupta, MD&CEO, ICICI Lombard General Insurance.

“We are seeing a month-on-month improvement for the industry. The second quarter has been much better than the first and the industry, in aggregate, has grown slightly over the last year. As a company, our growth this year was roughly 8 per cent over the same period last year. Overall, things are looking positive in terms of growth,” he added.

While there is a lot of demand in the auto sector due to the festive season, the management said, whether or not the demand sustains is something that needs to be watched. The concern, which the management sees at this point in time, is a second spike in the number of Covid cases.

The insurer’s shares closed 0.08 per cent lower at Rs 1,257.50 on the BSE.

Star Health, ICICI Lombard launch policies to cover Covid-19 patients

Star Health and Allied Insurance on Friday launched a benefit policy to cover all those who test positive for novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and require hospitalisation.

The 'Star Novel Coronavirus' policy will provide a lump sum payment to any insured between age 18 to 65 years, who is declared positive by a government accredited test and is hospitalised for the same, the private health insurer said in a release here.

Importantly, the policy does not have any international travel history related exclusions, it added.

The policy is available under two sum insured options of Rs 21,000 and Rs 42,000 at premiums of Rs 459 plus GST and Rs 918 plus GST, respectively.

Anyone up to the age of 65 years can purchase the policy online or through the company's network of agents without having to undergo any pre-medical screening.

"The coronavirus has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and it is necessary that Indian citizens protect themselves against this virus. This policy has been designed to cover those who test positive, whether or not they have travelled beyond the country's borders. It will help provide a lump-sum pay out for those affected to meet their hospitalisation expenses, Star Health and Allied Insurance Managing Director Anand Roy said.

All its regular health insurance plans cover for treatment against Covid-19, he added.

ICICI Lombard launches focused COVID-19 Protection Cover

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company in an exchange filing after market hours yesterday announced that they have rolled out a focused COVID-19 Protection Cover.

The company said that amid the contagious pandemic, this policy on diagnosis of COVID-19 (+ve) will pay 100% of the sum insured irrespective of hospitalization expenses. The launched insurance policy is in group insurance mode.

The company said, If a policyholder tests positive for COVID-19 at any of the Government authorized centers, the company will pay out the entire sum insured, in a lump sum in the event of a first diagnosis of COVID-19 during the policy period, subject to an initial waiting period of 14 days. The scope of cover shall be within the geographical boundaries of India and restricted to Indian nationals only.

The health cover of policy is priced at a premium of Rs 149 and provides a sum insured of Rs 25,000 including value added benefits. The insurance policy will cover all individualos across the age group of 18-75 years. The period of the policy is restricted to 1 year and the scope of the coverage is limited to the geographical boundaries of India. The cover also excludes people with travel history to any location overseas post December 31, 2019 and if the insured has been quarantined for suspected COVID-19 or diagnosed with COVID-19 prior to the risk inception date or within the initial 14-Day waiting period.

The cases of coronavirus are increasing rapidly across the world with the count crossing 245,749 globally and 195 in India. Global death toll rose to 10,048 on Friday, with India reporting four deaths due to Covid-19. On Friday, Maharashtra reported three new cases of coronavirus, taking its total to 52 --highest in the country.