Page 6 - Insurance Times December 2021

fold," said Prakash Chandra Kandpal, claimed, on an average, 37 lives as tered road crashes was 36,607 com-
Managing Director and CEO, SBI Gen- recorded by police across the country, pared to 36,131 in 2019 and in Decem-
eral Insurance. the most in the last five years. Overall ber 2020, these increased to 38,128
road deaths, however, reduced due to compared to 36,394 a year back.
More than 80% of Indians the pandemic induced restrictions on
vehicle movement for months. GIC Re sees over fourfold
live in climate vulnerable
A comparative analysis of the National jump in net profit Rs. 1,010
districts Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data
More than 80% of Indians live in cli- from 2017 to 2020 shows that the crore in Q2
mate vulnerable districts, and Assam, number of lives lost per 100 road General Insurance Corporation of India
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, crashes was 35 in 2019, 34 in 2018 and Limited (GIC Re) reported four-fold
Karnataka and Bihar are states most 32 in 2017. This is also defined as "se- jump in its net profit to
vulnerable to extreme climate events verity of accidents" and an indicator of Rs.1,010.55crore for the quarter
such as floods, drought and cyclones in how safe or unsafe roads are. ended September 30. The public sec-
India, said a study brought by a New tor general insurer had posted a net
According to the latest report on acci-
Delhi based think-tank. profit of Rs230.05cr in the same quar-
dental deaths published by NCRB for
ter of last fiscal.
Overall, 27 Indian states and Union 2020, the overall road fatalities re-
territories are vulnerable to extreme duced by nearly 14%, from about 1.5 The company's gross premium, how-
climate events, which often disrupt the lakh in 2019 to 1.3 lakh during last ever, was down to Rs.8,374.72crore in
local economy and displace communi- year, primarily on account of restric- Q2FY22, compared with Rs.10,651.50
ties, said the Climate Vulnerability In- tions due to Covid-19. But indicators crore in Q2FY21.
dex brought out by the Council on En- such as severity of crashes and in- Profit After Tax for H1FY22 recorded
ergy, Environment and Water (CEEW). creased share of two-wheeler occu- as Rs.238.82cr as compared to Loss
Dhemaji and Nagaon in Assam, pants' deaths in total fatalities - from After Tax of Rs.327.42cr for H1FY21.
Khammam in Telangana, Gajapati in 36% in 2019 to 43.6% in 2020 - Total Assets are Rs.1,46,132.46crore
Odisha, Vizianagaram in Andhra emerged as issues of concern. as on September 30, 2021 as com-
Pradesh, Sangli in Maharashtra, and "The NCRB report also shows how the pared to Rs1,26,167.89cr as on Sep-
Chennai in Tamil Nadu are among number of road crashes increased as tember 30, 2020.
India's most climate vulnerable dis- restrictions on vehicle movement were
tricts, it said. lifted during the second half of 2020. PSU insurers face uncer-
Southern India is the most vulnerable This could be due to increased number tainty
to extreme climate events and their of vehicles and also signs of systemic
compounding impact, followed by the problems such as traffic engineering The three PSU non-life insurers - Na-
tional Insurance, Oriental Insurance
eastern, western, northern, north- and faulty road designs that we need and United India - are dealing with
eastern and central zones. to fix rather than simply putting all the
blame on road users," said Rohit uncertainty on multiple fronts.
This will help developing countries to Baluja, a road safety expert and presi-
strengthen adaptation mechanisms The Delhi high court order setting
dent of the College of Traffic Manage- aside directors' appointments by the
against such extreme climate events
ment. Banks Board Bureau (BBB) on the
and also accelerate the low-carbon
transition. The existing commitments In fact, the data shows that the num- grounds of jurisdiction has thrown into
made by developed countries are insuf- ber of road crashes in 2020 recorded question the appointment of the chief
executives too.
ficient and yet to be met. by police departments touched the
lowest ever in April at 8,350 and re- The erosion of capital has made it dif-
mained less than the figures of 2019 ficult for them to grow business or
In 2020 road accidents
till October. The traffic crashes spiked implement an overdue wage revision
were most fatal in 5 years in November and December. In No- for employees. Also, the government
In 2020, every 100 road crashes vember last year, the number of regis- announcement of privatising some of

6 The Insurance Times, December 2021