KOLKATA: Despite an average 22% rise in premium income during April-June 2010, two of the four public sector general insurers have seen their profits decline further while another has found its losses (after tax) dip further during the period.
This has been triggered by increasing underwriting losses during the quarter. Losses have been more in the marine, health and the motor insurance segments.
Kolkata-based National Insurance ( NIC) saw its net losses soar 128% to Rs 97 crore during the period under review against a Rs 42 crore loss in the previous corresponding period. United India (UII) saw profit after tax fall almost 23% to Rs 96 crore during the period against Rs 124 crore in the previous period.
Oriental Insurance (OIC), on the other hand, saw its profit after tax decline by about 60% to Rs 22.66 crore during the first quarter of the current fiscal against Rs 57 crore during the first quarter of 2009-10.
New India Assurance (NIA), however, managed a 80% rise in profit after tax to Rs 404.67 crore during the period, against Rs 224 crore in the previous corresponding period. The sizable rise in PAT was primarily due to a decline in the tax component during the current period against the previous period. Profit before tax, however, rose a decent 21% during the period.
The decline in profits or deepening of losses was primarily due to increased underwriting losses in all categories of business including fire, marine and motor. Underwriting losses at National Insurance increased 57% from Rs 89 crore during the first quarter of 2009-10 to Rs 140 crore during the period April-June 2010.
UII, which had managed a meagre Rs 2.2 crore of underwriting profits during April-June 2010, saw the profit transform into a Rs 50 crore underwriting loss. It managed a Rs 10-crore underwriting profit under marine category during the first quarter of 2009-10. This, however, declined to a Rs 40-crore underwriting loss during April-June 2010.
OIC took a big hit in the miscellaneous category, which includes health and motor covers. The category saw underwriting losses further dip almost 10 times from Rs 2.2 crore during April-June 2009 to Rs 23 crore during April-June 2010. Its underwriting losses for the miscellaneous segment touched Rs 70 crore during the current period against Rs 8.2 crore in the previous corresponding period.
NIA, which managed a rise in profit, was the only among the four public sector general insurers that saw a marginal change in operating losses at Rs 503 crore. It managed a 20% rise in PBT during the period under review in contrast to the previous corresponding period.