Page 7 - Insurance Times May 2022

The ministry has issued a cheque of Rs tre against the subscription," said an of- miums to Rs 2.20 trillion in FY22. This
1,200 crore to the company on March ficial, who did not wish to be identified. compares with a 1.98 trillion worth of
28, to shore up capital. A notification issued by the finance min- premiums collected in FY21.
The solvency ratio of an insurance istry on April 13 said that for NICL the Growth in the non-life sector is also
company measures the size of its capi- authorised capital will now be 15,000 back to pre-Covid levels as in FY20 the
tal against the policies it has written, crore, for OICL it will be 7,500 crore and industry had posted a growth of 11.7
in other words, the risks it has covered. for UICL, authorised capital has been per cent over the year-ago period. In
raised to 7,500 crore from 5,000 crore. FY21, the industry's premiums had
3 PSU general insurers to The state-owned general insurance grown by just 5.2 per cent.

get capital infusion of Rs. companies were staring at low sol- General insurers, booked premiums to
vency levels and poor financial health, the tune of Rs 1.84 trillion in FY22, up
5,000 crore forcing the government to step in. The 8.79 per cent from year-ago period, with
The Centre has raised the authorised government notified the amendment private insurers growing at 12 per cent
capital of three public sector insurance to merge schemes of these three insur- and state-owned insurers registering a
companies - Oriental Insurance Com- ance companies. growth of just 4.55 per cent, mainly be-
pany Limited (OICL), National Insur- The three state-owned general insur- cause of contraction in premiums seen
ance Co. Ltd. (NICL) and United India ers, which have about 20% market by National Insurance Company and
Insurance Co. Ltd. (UICL) - to enable share, have been unprofitable. In the United Insurance Company. On the other
subscription of capital. past two years, the government has hand, New India Assurance reported a
infused more than 12,500 crore in growth of over 14 per cent in premiums
Officials said authorised share capital during the same period.
of entities is increased from time to these three companies. Last month,
Parliament approved capital infusion of Among private sector general insurers,
time to enable subscription of capital.
5,000 crore in these three insurers. market leader ICICI Lombard General
"In the instant case, the government Insurance reported a 28 per cent
infused 5,000 crore, i.e. 3,700 crore in Non-life insurers post 11% growth in premiums, Bajaj Allianz Gen-
NICL, 1,200 crore in OICL and Rs 100 eral Insurance premium grew by 9 per
crore in UICL, which will be used to sub- growth in FY22 premiums cent, and HDFC Ergo's premiums grew
scribe to the share capital of the respec- After a low single digit growth in FY21, by 9.78 per cent.
tive public sector general insurance com- the non-life insurance industry re- Standalone health insurers, five in to-
panies and issuance of shares to the Cen- ported an 11 per cent growth in pre-
tal, reported a premium growth of
32.53 per cent in FY22 to Rs 20,880.08
KKR to aquire stake in Shriram insurance crore. In FY21, their premium collec-
Global investment major KKR & Co has entered into a definitive agreement tions stood at 15,755.18 crore. All the
to acquire a 9.99 per cent stake in Shriram General Insurance (SGI) for around five players registered double-digit
Rs 1,800 crore. The stake is currently owned by Shriram Capital. growth in premiums, with NivaBupa
"KKR's investment will position Shriram General Insurance for continued registering a staggering 60 per cent
growth in India's fast-growing general insurance industry," the insurer said in growth. Market leader Star Health's
a statement. The agreement awaits regulatory approvals. SGI was valued at premiums grew by 22 per cent to Rs
around Rs 18,000 crore. There will be one representation from KKR on 11,462.39 crore.
Shriram General's board post the consummation of the deal. And, specialised PSU insurers reported
KKR's investment builds on strong tailwinds in the Indian general insurance a premium growth of 14 per cent to
industry and SGI's continued expansion into new segments and investment in Rs 14,979 crore.
its digital capabilities to meet the evolving needs and preferences of Indian Growth in premiums in the non-life in-
consumers, the statement added. surance industry is being primarily
"We are delighted to welcome KKR as our investor, and look to benefit from driven by the health insurance seg-
their global insurance expertise as well as significant experience, taking In- ment, which has become the most
dian companies to the next level. We look forward to collaborating closely to dominant line of business for insurers
strengthen Shriram General Insurance's offerings to Indian consumers and in this segment.
achieve continued success," said Anil Kumar Aggarwal, managing director and As per the latest data released by the
chief executive officer, Shriram General Insurance. General Insurance Council, health seg-
The Insurance Times, May 2022 7