Page 16 - The Insurance Times May 2025

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growth journey." He added, "Our retail
Life Insurers Face Margin Pressure in Q4, General weighted received premium (RWRP)
Insurers Struggle with Claims growth of 15.2 per cent in FY25
demonstrates our ability to deliver
Life insurers are likely to report flat profitability for Q4 FY25 due to lower
superior performance in a competitive
contributions from low-margin unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips), sluggish
landscape."
credit protection segment growth, and continued investments in expanding
distribution, analysts said.
High Premiums, Poor
Sales of Ulips reportedly weakened due to volatile equity markets, while
credit protection business growth was impacted by slowing microfinance Awareness Curb Insurance
disbursements. These trends are expected to weigh on annualised premium Uptake: Policybazaar
equivalent (APE) numbers.
Survey
According to Emkay Global Financial Services, "With a lower contribution of
Ulips in the quarter offset by the slow microfinance disbursements impacting A recent survey conducted by
credit protection growth, value of new business (VNB) margins are likely to Policybazaar among nearly 4,000
individuals revealed that 31 per cent
be stable."
cited high premiums, and 26 per cent
Meanwhile, general insurers are grappling with margin pressure from cited insufficient funds, as the main
changes in accounting norms and higher claims ratios, particularly in motor reasons for not purchasing health or
insurance. Analysts anticipate that these factors will constrain both top-line term insurance.
growth and bottom-line profitability across the insurance sector.
The "How India Buys Insurance" report
found that while 83 per cent of
ICICI Prudential Life's Q4 cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs respondents acknowledged the need
16,369.17 crore during the quarter.
Net Profit Doubles to Rs However, annualised premium for health insurance, only 19 per cent

386 Crore on Strong equivalent (APE) slipped slightly by 3.12 actually owned a policy. Moreover, 30
per cent of respondents indicated no
per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 3,502 crore. For
Premium Growth intention to buy health insurance in
the full financial year, APE grew by 15
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance per cent to Rs 10,407 crore. the future.
reported a 2.2 times increase in its net Retail protection business' APE rose Key deterrents included lack of funds
profit to Rs 386.29 crore for the and difficulties in understanding
25.1 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 598 crore.
January-March quarter of FY25 (Q4 insurance products. About 20 per cent
Anup Bagchi, Managing Director and
FY25), compared to Rs 173.8 crore a said they did not fully grasp health
CEO, said, "We are pleased to
year ago, driven by healthy growth in insurance concepts, while 18 per cent
announce that we have crossed Rs
net premium income. found the buying process cumbersome.
10,000 crore APE for the first time,
Net premium income grew 10.7 per marking a significant milestone in our For term insurance, 48 per cent of
The Insurance Times May 2025 15