Page 9 - The Insurance Times May 2025

Gross direct premium income (GDPI)
rose 2.27% to Rs 6,211 crore, with Marine and Trade Risk Insurance May See Price Rise
numbers affected by the Insurance Amid US Tariff Uncertainty
Regulatory and Development Author- The US' announcement of a 26% reciprocal tariff on Indian exports has raised
ity of India's (Irdai) new 1/N account- concerns within India's marine and trade risk insurance sector, potentially
ing norms, making comparisons with leading to higher premiums. Although President Donald Trump has sus-
the previous year difficult. pended the tariff for 90 days to allow negotiations, the uncertainty remains.
Excluding crop insurance, premium Industry experts warn that if tariffs are implemented, the value of goods
growth was 8.3% year-on-year. The insured under marine cargo policies will rise, pushing up premiums and claim
commercial line saw 2.8% growth, payouts.
while motor insurance grew marginally "There will be some indirect impact from the tariffs on goods exported from
by 0.1% against the industry's 6.9% India to the US. The insurance covers the value of goods, and if that value
expansion. increases due to the additional tariffs, the premiums for marine cargo in-
"As indicated during the last quarter, surance will also rise. The amount payable for claims will also increase,"
said Amarnath Saxena, Chief Technical Officer-Commercial, Bajaj Allianz Gen-
government expenditure remained
eral Insurance.
flat, which impacted the commercial
line segment growth for the current If the volume of exports remains steady, marine insurance premiums could
quarter. However, we have started rise significantly. The market is closely watching the ongoing trade negotia-
seeing an uptick in government spend- tions during the suspension window.
ing towards capital expenditure in the
past few months. This may be a posi-
cepted in Sambhal and unexplained pany grew by 14.5% for FY25.
tive for the commercial line of busi-
cash in large quantity along with PAN
ness," said Sanjeev Mantri, MD and SBI General Insurance has grown at
cards, debit cards, etc, were found in
CEO, in an analyst call. 70% faster than the industry growth of
it," said ASP Anukriti Sharma. 6.2%. Profit After Tax (PAT) at INR 509
Police Files 800-Page Key accused include Omkareshwar crores, registering a strong growth of
Mishra (Varanasi), Surajpal and 112% year-on-year.
Chargesheet Against 'In-
Shahrukh Khan (Sambhal), and Additionally, the Company gained 23
surance Mafia' in Multi- Shivendra Kumar (Bihar). Investigators basis points improvement in private

Crore Scam expect to name additional suspects in market share, reinforcing its strong
supplementary chargesheets as the
Authorities in Sambhal have filed an probe continues. foothold in the industry. SBI General
800-page chargesheet against 11 indi- Insurance continued to lead the Per-
viduals implicated in a massive insur- SBI General Insurance PAT sonal Accident (PA) segment, maintain-
ance scam involving fake life insurance ing its position as the No. 1 private in-
policies of the dead and dying to siphon Zooms at 112 percent YoY surer. Health Insurance grew at 19.2%
funds from major insurers like ICICI to Rs. 509 Crores and motor insurance at 31.2% YOY,
Prudential, PNB MetLife, Bajaj Allianz, contributing significantly to the over-
and SBI Life. SBI General Insurance, one of India’s all growth of the company.
leading general insurance companies,
The scam, uncovered in January 2025, announced its financial results for Other segments like Marine Cargo, En-
involved a 26-member syndicate oper- FY25, marking a milestone as the com- gineering, and other commercial lines,
ating across 12 states. It came to light pany completes 15 years of operations. also contributed meaningfully to SBI
after an SUV was intercepted carrying Continuing its robust growth trajec- General Insurance’s overall growth.
large amounts of unexplained cash, tory, the company reported a Gross In terms of financial position, the
PAN cards, and debit cards. Written Premium (GWP) of INR 14,140 company’s solvency ratio stood at 2.03,
"The 800-page chargesheet, filed, has crores, recording a YOY growth of well above the regulatory requirement
every detail of the evidence collected 11.1%. Excluding the impact of 1/n of 1.50, highlighting its strong financial
from Jan 17 when an SUV was inter- accounting norm, the GWP of the Com- stability.

The Insurance Times May 2025 9