Page 6 - Insurance Times March 2022

previous financial year and investment paid by the concerned insurance com- "Some States have not released their
income saw a 20 per cent growth to panies within two months of comple- share of premium subsidies for certain
Rs 532.23 crore. tion of Crop Cutting Experiments seasons, and any specific reasons for
However, its underwriting losses in- (CCEs)/harvesting period and one such default have not been communi-
month of notification for invoking the cated," the Ministry told the Lok Sabha
creased in Q3FY22 to Rs 269.19 crore
risks/perils of prevented sowing, mid- in November last year.
as against Rs 100.73 crore in the pre-
vious quarter and Rs 135.41 crore in season adversity and post-harvest
Q3FY21. Consequently, the combined losses. But this is subject to receipt of India to have own safety
ratio of the insurer, which is a measure the total share of premium subsidy standards, rating for ve-
of core profitability, for the quarter from the concerned government
stood at 104.5 per cent as against 97.9 within time. hicles
per cent in Q3FY21. The Ministry data presented to the Lok India plans to roll out its vehicle safety
Sabha in December shows that insur- standards, mirroring similar
"In the current quarter, we are report-
ance companies have outstanding programmes globally, in a renewed
ing combined numbers with the book push towards improving road and ve-
that has come in from Bharti Axa gen- claims of Rs. 3, 381.1 crore for the hicle safety in the country that has one
eral insurance. We have always been period between 2016-17 and 2020-21. of the world's worst road safety
saying on a proforma basis, their com- Of this, Rs. 2,822.1 crore is pending as records.
bined ratio and ours put together was the State governments have not paid
around 104 per cent. From now on, we the subsidy. The Bharat New Car Assessment
will have to see how we will see the The PMFBY was introduced from Programme (NCAP) will look at the
synergy benefits so that combined ra- kharif 2016 season. It is a voluntary safety of new vehicles and assign star
tio comes under control", said Bhargav scheme for States as well as farmers. ratings on their safety and sturdiness,
Dasgupta, MD&CEO, ICICI Lombard States can participate in the scheme in line with Global NCAP and European
General Insurance. keeping in view their risk perception NCAP car safety programmes, road
transport and highways minister Nitin
"Generally, there has been a very ag- and financial considerations. Since the Gadkari told reporters.
gressive market share grabbing ap- inception of the scheme, 27 States/
proach followed by some of the play- Union Territories have implemented He did not give a timeframe for launch-
ers to show growth and that has im- the PMFBY in one or more seasons. ing the new vehicle safety standards.
pacted our overall pricing and cost From the inception of the scheme till Gadkari said consumer safety and pub-
structure", he added. 2020-21, cumulatively 2,938.7 lakh lic awareness about the safety norms
are his ministry's prime focus.
Solvency ratio of the insurer was 2.45x farmers, with a sum insured of Rs.
at the end of December quarter as 10,49,342 crore, have been enrolled He also said the government would
against 2.49x at the end of September under the scheme. make it mandatory for all new vehicles
that can carry up to eight passengers
quarter. The premium under the scheme is de- to have at least six airbags. This will
termined through biding. However, comprise side curtain airbags in addi-
PM crop insurance: Rs. farmers have to pay a maximum 2 per tion to the current two front airbags.

2,822-crore claims pending cent for kharif, 1.5 per cent for rabi Other features such as a three-point
food and oilseed crops and 5 per cent
From 2016-17 till date, many farmers, for commercial/horticultural crops. seat belt and automatic emergency
across States, who opted for the The balance of actuarial/bidded pre- braking system (AEBS) will also be
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana mium is shared by the union and States made mandatory for new passenger
(PMFBY) have not received insurance on 50: 50 basis ( except the North East- vehicles, he said.
claims. The outstanding amount of To be sure, talks of an Indian NCAP for
ern States). The premium rate of crops
about Rs. 2,822.1 crore is thanks to depends on the risk associated with testing the safety of new vehicles have
the State governments not contribut- been doing the rounds for the past
them and the total liability of the State
ing their share to the scheme. depends on the actuarial/bidded pre- couple of years, but they are still to be
According to the Ministry of Agricul- mium rate, sum insured of crops, area formally introduced.
ture and Farmers Welfare, the admis- insured, and the number of crops noti- Gadkari said steps such as production
sible claims under PMFBY are generally fied by the States. linked incentive (PLI) schemes have led

6 The Insurance Times, March 2022