Page 7 - The Insurance Times February 2025

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Meanwhile, private sector insurers,
Insurers launch covers against cyber fraud including standalone health insurers,
With increasing cybercrime and a push from regulators, numerous insur- wrote premiums amounting to Rs 1.88
ance companies have rolled out cyber coverage for individuals. These poli- lakh crore, up from Rs 1.58 lakh crore
cies aim to shield individuals from risks posed by malicious actors during their in 2022-23. The aggregate profit for
digital interactions. However, the coverage has certain nuances, and cases the non-life insurance sector was Rs
such as digital coercion, where victims are tricked into transferring money 10,119 crore, a recovery from the net
to fraudsters, may not be covered. loss of Rs 2,566 crore reported in 2022-
Cyber risk insurance originally emerged as contracts aimed at businesses 23. During this period, aggregate net
suffering losses from ransomware attacks, malware infections, or data incurred claims rose by 15.39% to Rs
breaches. Bajaj Allianz is one of the insurers now offering individual cyber 1.72 lakh crore, compared to Rs 1.49
coverage, with premiums starting at Rs 250 and ranging from Rs 6,000 to lakh crore in the prior year.
Rs 8,000. Insured sums start from Rs 10,000 and extend up to Rs 1 crore.
This type of insurance is still in its early stages, and the company is closely New vehicle registration in
monitoring whether its pricing models are sustainable. 2024 slowest in three
"The thinking is that individuals may also face risks similar to businesses. For years
instance, phishing scams targeting routine payment instructions or spoof- The pace of new vehicle registrations
ing attacks could result in financial loss," explained TA Ramalingam, Chief in India during 2024 was the slowest
Technical Officer at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. However, he noted that in three years, as rising costs and in-
gross negligence, such as responding to fraudulent WhatsApp messages flationary pressures dampened con-
claiming to be from high-ranking officials, would not fall under the policy
sumer demand.
coverage. Similarly, incidents where individuals are tricked into making pay-
ments under the threat of service discontinuation are also excluded. All-India vehicle retail sales in 2024
amounted to 26.1 million units, repre-
senting a 9% growth over 2023, which
Non-life insurers' claim ra- the Insurance Regulatory and Develop- saw sales of 23.9 million vehicles. How-
ment Authority of India (IRDAI), the ever, this growth rate was the lowest
tio falls since 2021, which recorded a modest
non-life insurance industry underwrote
The net incurred claims to net earned a total direct premium of Rs 2.90 lakh 2% year-on-year increase.
premium ratio (claims ratio) for the crore during the fiscal year, marking a Passenger vehicle (PV) registrations,
non-life insurance industry stood at growth of 12.76% compared to the which include cars and SUVs, grew by
82.52% in 2023-24, a slight decline previous year. Public sector general 5% in 2024, reaching 4.07 million units.
from 82.95% in the previous fiscal, ac- insurers' contributions rose by 8.88%, Two-wheeler sales saw an 11% rise,
cording to the IRDAI's annual report. from Rs 82,891 crore in 2022-23 to Rs hitting 18.91 million units, surpassing
As per the 2023-24 Annual Report by 90,252 crore in 2023-24. the previous record of 18.2 million in

The Insurance Times February 2025 7