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Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 15, 2025

NEW DELHI – ICICI Lombard General Insurance Ltd. is not keen on increasing its market share amid intense competition that is leading to losses for other general insurers, the bank's management told analysts in a post-earnings conference call. ICICI Lombard's market share was 9.8% in June, lower than 10.6% a year ago and 10.3% a month ago.

"...honestly, we don't necessarily see at an aggregate level any sense in gaining market share," the management said in the call. "But within the segments, obviously we will grow where we think it is appropriate."

The insurer's gross direct premium income rose just 0.6% on year to INR 77.35 billion in Apr-Jun, against the industry growth of 8.8%, it said in a press release. Excluding the impact of a regulation on accounting premiums from long-term policies, gross direct premium income grew 4.8% for the June quarter against industry growth of 12.8%, the company said. 

The company took a conscious call to dial down growth in segments such as motor insurance, even as it maintained its lead in the market share at 10.5% in Apr-Jun. Its growth in the segment has been 3.2% on year in the June quarter against the industry's 8.7% growth. In the June quarter, the general insurer's combined ratio was 102.9%, in line with its trend in recent quarters. The management said the industry's combined ratio was at 113%, and particularly in motor insurance at 124%. A combined ratio above 100% shows an underwriting loss. 

"How long can this subsist? Honestly, we believe that you cannot continue to lose 25 cents to a dollar for a very long period of time," the management said.

ICICI Lombard's net profit for Apr-Jun rose 29% on year to INR 7.47 billion. Analysts had estimated ICICI Lombard's net profit at INR 5.63 billion, down 3% on year. Shares of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Tuesday ended 0.8% lower at INR 2,002.70 on the National Stock Exchange. The company announced its earnings after market hours. 

The management noted that other insurers had made inroads especially in the health insurance space, which made up around 40% of its gross direct premium. The health segment is characterised by chunky premiums and a relatively low cost of acquisition, and ICICI Lombard's credit disbursement was muted, combined with the impact of the accounting norm, they said. It has increased its market share in the retail health segment in the June quarter.

Moreover, the management said its loss ratio in the health segment is likely to go down in the coming quarters due to a positive base effect in Oct-Mar. With an analyst noting its high loss ratios on the "back book", the management said that the trend should reverse in subsequent quarters.

"We do believe that as a company, we would fare a lot better in coming quarters as the growth of new (business) would start overall impacting our loss issues positively," the management said.  End

Reported by Aaryan Khanna and Sagar Sen

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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