Sunday, October 11, 2009

State-run general insurers post 10 percent growth

oriental insurance

The four government-owned non-life insurers - National Insurance, New India, Oriental Insurance and United India - have posted a combined business growth of 10.55 percent for the first half this fiscal.

'The four companies earned a total premium of Rs.9,991.18 crore during the period, up from Rs.9,059.3 crore earned during the first half of 2008-09,' J. Gurumurthy, secretary of All India Insurance Employees Association, told IANS.

Among the four, the city-based United India logged the highest growth rate - 17.55 percent. It earned Rs.2,463.22 crore in the April-September period this year, up from Rs.2,095.49 crore in the like period last year.

However, in terms of volume, the Mumbai-based New India maintained its lead over the other companies, with a premium income of Rs.3,027.63 crore, up by Rs.237.56 crore from the year-ago period.

The New Delhi-based Oriental Insurance earned Rs.2,307.59 crore as compared to Rs.2,009.08 crore in the first six months last fiscal, while the Kolkata-based National Insurance earned Rs.2,192.74 crore, up from Rs.2,164.66 crore, Gurumurthy added.

National Insurance which logged impressive growth rates during the past couple of years, now dropped to the fourth position, logging a growth rate of meagre 1.3 percent.