General insurers see growth slipping this fiscal

The general insurance industry is likely to see a drop in growth in the current financial year compared to the last fiscal due to a slowdown in economic activities, feel industry players.

Growth in FY14 is expected to be around 15 per cent, down from 19 per cent last fiscal, they said.

“There is a feeling that growth in the general insurance industry will come down. Macroeconomic condition is not sound. Projects are stalled...vehicle sales are down,” a top official of a public sector general insurer told

PTI on Friday.

He said the dip in growth is more likely to be in the corporate and motor segments than in the retail space.

Health and motor insurance are the major contributors to the growth in general insurance industry and a slowdown in economy is likely to affect these sectors the most, the industry players said.

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Managing Director and Chief Executive Tapan Singhel echoed similar sentiments.

“Unless industrial growth picks up, the general insurance industry may see a growth of around 15 per cent this fiscal,” Mr. Singhel said, adding Bajaj Allianz will, however, report higher growth than industry average in FY14.

However, the General Insurance Council (GIC), a top representative body of non-life insurance firms, said it’s too early to come to a conclusion regarding growth figures for the just started fiscal.

“I think, it’s too early to predict growth rate of the general insurance industry,” GIC Secretary General R Chandrasekaran said.