Page 8 - Insurance Times March 2024

for voyages involving Red Sea ship- The region has been seeing attacks on and some are refusing coverage for
ments and are looking at more such commercial ships by armed individuals. shipments passing through the Red Sea
increases if the attacks continue to If the situation persists, insurers might corridor. However, for existing policies
persist. eventually refrain from providing ma- such as the STOP Policy and others,
Insurers such as TATA AIG Insurance rine cover for this route, or there may insurers are required to provide notice
have sent notices of cancellation for be restrictions imposed by reinsurers to policyholders with at least a 7-day
war, terrorism, piracy and strike cov- and then insurers which will impact the timeframe to withdraw coverage,"
ers. Others such as ICICI Lombard and overall marine business, industry play- said Amit Agarwal, CEO, Howden In-
Bajaj Allianz General said that while ers said. dia, adding that if the attacks persist,
they haven't pulled out, they are see- Israeli and other allied merchant ships premiums could rise by 30-40 per cent.
ing an increase in premiums is specific travelling through the Suez Canal and
policies and covers. areas such as the Indian Ocean, Gulf Govt launches Sarathi por-

Deepak Prinjha, Chief Technical Officer, of Aden, Southern Red Sea, and Cabo tal to help insurance firms
Commercial - Underwriting, Royal Delgado are facing attacks by Yemen- reach out to farmers
Sundaram General said that a few in- based Houthis and Somalian pirates,
surers have started charging an addi- acting in solidarity with Gaza amid the The Centre launched a portal 'Sarathi'
tional premium for bulk cargo transit- ongoing Israeli-Palestine war. The that aims to help insurance companies
ing through this route. route is usually used by Indian ships reach out to farmers and rural popu-
"Our company and the reinsurance in- going to or coming from Europe and lation with tailored products as well as
the government's subsidised insurance
dustry, have adopted a 'wait and the US East Coast, and some of these
watch' strategy. If the attacks con- ships are now being forced to go products including Pradhan Mantri
tinue, each insurer may charge a around southern Africa or take alter- Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
higher marine premium for all cargos, native routes, increasing both travel Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda also
including bulk cargo," he added. risks and time for shipments. launched a helpline number 14447 to
The Red Sea is one of the busiest sea "Several insurers have already raised enable farmers to lodge their concerns
routes, especially for Indian logistics. their war insurance premiums by 10X, to strengthen grievance redressal
mechanism under PMFBY.
New India Assurance Q3 net falls 4.5% on rise in Sharing details about portal Sarathi
(Sandbox for Agriculture, Rural Secu-
'catastrophe claims' rity, Technology and Insurance),
The New India Assurance Company Limited (NIACL), a listed state-owned PMFBY's CEO Ritesh
general insurer, has reported 4.5 per cent decline in net profit for the quar-
ter ended December 31, 2023, at Rs. 715 crore (Rs. 749 crore). In the Sep- Chauhan said that it will offer a
tember 2023 quarter, NIACL had recorded a net loss of Rs. 200 crore. digitised insurance journey, simplifying
the process for farmers. The portal will
Net premium earned for the quarter under review grew 14 per cent at Rs. be a single window platform for view-
8,946 crore (Rs. 7,861 crore). It was also up nine per cent over a net pre- ing, purchasing, and availing insurance
mium of Rs. 8,206 crore recorded in the September 2023 quarter.
products, he said.
For the nine months ended December 30, 2023, NIACL reported a net profit The platform will have digital payment
of Rs. 775 crore, down 14 per cent over net profit of Rs. 900 crore recorded options and streamlined premium col-
in same period last fiscal.
lection, effortless claim initiation, track-
Commenting on the latest financial performance, Neerja Kapur, Chairper- ing and resolution besides user-friendly
son & Managing Director said, "FY24 continues to be a challenging year for interfaces for stakeholders, he said and
the company. In the third quarter, the country witnessed catastrophic added that a spectrum of insurance
events like cyclone Michaung and floods in South India, Sikkim and West products will be introduced on the por-
Bengal. tal in a phased manner.
The net impact of these events on the company's third-quarter results was The first phase involves personal acci-
about Rs. 358 crore. This is in addition to the Rs. 301 crore of catastrophe dent and hospital cash policies, while
claims that adversely impacted the results in the first half". the second phase will features health,

8 March 2024 The Insurance Times