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Informist, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025

By Cassandra Carvalho

MUMBAI – ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd's net profit for the quarter ended December rose 4.4% sequentially to INR 7.24 billion on subdued growth in premiums. The net profit was higher than Street expectations. As per the estimates from three brokerage firms, the net profit was seen in the range of INR 5.57 billion to INR 6.50 billion.

The company's net profit rose 67.8% on year. However, the company said, in its investor presentation, that its December quarter figures could not be compared with data from prior years due to a change in accounting norms.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India had announced a change in accounting norms mandating non-life insurers to report premiums on an annual basis for all policies underwritten after Oct. 1. While non-life insurers can underwrite long-term policies, annually, premiums for only one year will be recorded, the guidelines said. 

The general insurance company reported a total income of INR 58.83 billion, up 0.6% from a quarter ago. During the reporting quarter, the company reported INR 50.45 billion as net premium earned, up merely 0.4% on quarter. The net income from investments fell by nearly 1% on quarter to INR 8.40 billion. 

The insurer's gross direct premium income was INR 206.23 billion in Apr-Dec, up by 10.3% compared to INR 187.03 billion in the year-ago period, the company said in its investor presentation. Excluding the impact of the new IRDAI regulation, gross direct premium income grew by 11.9%, the company said. For the reporting quarter, ICICI Lombard reported INR 62.14 billion in gross direct premiums, a de-growth of 0.3% on year.

The solvency ratio was 2.36 times as of Dec. 31 compared to 2.65 times as of Sept. 30 and higher than the minimum regulatory requirement of 1.50 times.

The incurred claim ratio for ICICI Lombard fell to 65.8% in the quarter ended December, from 71.4% reported a quarter ago. During Oct-Dec, the general insurer paid claims worth INR 32.04 billion, higher than INR 31.25 billion reported a quarter ago. 

The combined ratio increased to 102.7% in Oct-Dec and 102.9% in the nine months ended December, including the impact of the IRDAI guidelines. Combined ratio is a measure of an insurer's underwriting performance, with a ratio below 100% showing underwriting profit. There were no CAT (catastrophy) losses during the quarter ended Dec. 31, according to the investor presentation.

The insurer's investment book was at INR 515.97 billion in Apr-Dec, compared with INR 468.67 billion a year ago.

The general insurance company sourced 28.1 million policies digitally and issued 99.5% of the policies electronically, as per the investor presentation. On Friday, shares of ICICI Lombard General Insurance ended at INR 1,948.75 on the National Stock Exchange, up 2.1%. The earnings were announced after market hours. End

Edited by Saji George Titus

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