GROWTH IN HEALTH AND COMMMERCIAL LINES SEGMENT GENERATE STABLE REVENUE AND HIGHER PROFITS
Bharti AXA General Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s leading business groups, and AXA, one of the world’s largest insurance companies reported marginal growth with gross written premium of Rs. 3183 crore in FY2020-21 compared to Rs. 3157 crore last year against the backdrop of COVID pandemic while posting profit after tax of INR 120 crore in the financial year 2020-21.
The company managed to improve productivity in most business lines and channels and achieve high double-digit growth in health and personal accident segment, SME, and commercial lines in this fiscal which helped counter the slowdown in the motor and travel insurance segments.
While the overall health segment saw a robust 11 per cent growth at Rs. 457 crore in FY2020-21 against Rs. 410 crore last year, Retail health grew by 48 per cent driven by sharp focus, launch of new products and increased awareness due to the pandemic.
Focus on SME, MSME and Commercial line segment backed by higher growth in Group health insurance and support from Bancassurance channel witnessed a significant 29 per cent growth at Rs. 554 crore during this fiscal against Rs. 430 crore in the year earlier. Crop insurance segment was successfully managed with Rs. 804 crore of business in FY2021 compared to Rs. 828 crore in the last year.
‘‘Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, FY2021 has been a challenging year for the industry and especially for us at Bharti AXA General Insurance. While the overall demand for goods and services across the economy has been relatively low, consumer has felt an evident need of insurance on the back of the uncertainty the pandemic has brought along with it. This timely understanding of changing consumer behavior helped us respond with required solutions and agility through tech advancements. It pushed us to launch several initiatives to reach the consumers through no-contact digital methods, not only to complete a transaction to onboard new customers but also service claims digitally as we ensured we are available for our existing customers in these turbulent times.
Further, the year demanded realignment with special focus on the health and commercial lines segment, and we swiftly managed to drive growth in these lines of business on account of increased awareness and launch of new products.’’ said Mr. Sanjeev Srinivasan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bharti AXA General Insurance.
Motor and travel insurance segments were impacted the most due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown. Motor insurance segment for Bharti AXA General Insurance de-grew by 8 per cent at Rs. 1,368 crore in this fiscal from Rs. 1,488 crore last year.
“Despite the challenges, we are happy to end the year with a strong performance and improved market ranking. This demonstrates a strong demand for our products and services, showcasing the unique value we bring to our customers and to our distribution partners. Our performance also reinforces the resilience and commitment of our team during the challenging year.” he added.
Bharti AXA General Insurance managed to achieve a lower combined ratio at 110.5 per cent during FY2021 compared to 120.7 per cent in FY2020 on account of improved profitability Combined ratio is a measure of profitability that takes into account claims and expenses as a proportion of premiums. Market ranking of the company in the private General Insurance sector also improved to 10th from 11th position in previous year despite the impact of the pandemic.
