ICICI Lombard sees 30% growth in motor vehicle insurance

Private sector insurer ICICI Lombard has registered a growth of over 30 per cent in the motor insurance segment in the first half of the current fiscal, a senior executive of the company said today.

Such a growth rate was last achieved by the non-life insurance company around eight years ago.

"At ICICI Lombard, we have registered a growth of more than 30 per cent in the motor insurance segment alone during the first half of the current fiscal from the year-ago period," ICICI Lombard's chief of health and motor, underwriting and claims Sanjay Datta told reporters in Mumbai.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of 'Mobile Self Inspection'. The app allows customers a hassle-free renewal of their lapsed motor insurance policy.

According to Datta, such type of growth under the motor insurance segment had been achieved by the company during pre-2008 period.

"We had achieved such kind of growth in the motor insurance segment during pre-2008 period," he said without divulging any further details.

For ICICI Lombard, motor insurance contributes 40 per cent of the total premium earned, he said.

The company has crossed Rs6,000 crore of premium income during the first half of the current fiscal under motor insurance segment. In the industry, total premium collected by all the players on the space during first half of the year was at Rs27,000 crore, he said.

On the long-term motor insurance policy, which was launched last year, he said the company has already covered around six lakh two-wheelers so far and thus earned premium below Rs100 crore. Under the policy, there is a provision to provide insurance cover for two wheelers for a period up to three years.

Talking about crop insurance, he said the company has already underwritten premium amounting to around Rs1,500 crore so far against the industry figure of Rs12,000 crore.

He said that driven by the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme which was launched by the government on 1 July, the industry may cross the mark of Rs18,000 crore by the end of the forthcoming Rabi season. ICICI Lombard is participating in the scheme in five to six states.