General insurance turnover crosses Rs 7 billion

REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Sept 25: Even though insurance industry continue to suffer from low awareness of general public and apathy of even the informed mass to safeguard their hard-earned property, country´s non-life insurance industry recorded a growth of 8.4 percent in 2010/11, shows the latest report of Insurance Board (IB), the insurance sector regulator.

The entire non-life insurance industry -- comprising of a total of 17 general insurance companies -- collected premium worth Rs 7.17 billion during the period.

Everest Insurance has clinched the title of the largest non-life insurance company in the country in terms of premium collection, shows the IB report. The company collected premium worth Rs 738.57 million during the year, up 16.8 percent than the previous fiscal year.

"The revenue collection had gone up largely because of the contribution made by engineering portfolio," Sudimna Upadhyaya, assistant general manager of Everest Insurance, told Republica, referring to the new client -- Melamchi Water Supply Project.

He, however, is not expecting similar growth this year due to over saturation of the market.

The company recorded 16.8 percent growth last fiscal year against non-life insurance sector´s growth of 8.4 percent. "Because of this mismatch, we can´t expect much growth, as everyone is trying to grab a piece from the same pie which hasn´t grown significantly," he said. "Besides, we are not planning to introduce any unique product this year, which could have widened our clientele base."

Second in the list of top non-life insurance companies is NLG Insurance Company. It collected premium worth Rs 700.4 million last fiscal year -- a rise of 25 percent.

Sunil Ballav Pant, marketing head of NLG Insurance, told Republica that the government decision to make third-party insurance coverage mandatory played a vital role in giving a boost to the company´s revenue.

Under the third-party insurance policy, which came into effect in September 2009, insurance companies collect a premium of as little as Rs 1,000 from vehicle owners and provide coverage of up to Rs 16 million. The amount is paid in case motorists damage property, or injure or kill people other than those on or inside the vehicle during road mishaps.

This policy helped raise NLG Insurance´s vehicle insurance premium collection to Rs 537.42 million in the last fiscal year, making it the top vehicle insurer in the country.

Third in the list of top non-life insurance companies is Shikhar Insurance Company. The company collected a premium of Rs 625.77 million last fiscal year - an increment of 4 percent. Like NLG, Shikhar´s revenue also went up due to contribution made by vehicle portfolio. The company sold vehicle insurance premium worth Rs 225.57 million during the period.

Among others, Sagarmatha Insurance Company generated revenue of Rs 579.96 million, becoming fourth largest non-life insurance company in the country in terms of premium collection. Himalayan General Insurance Company, with revenue of Rs 548.99 million, stood in the fifth position, followed by state-owned Rastriya Beema Sansthan, which collected premium worth Rs 548.69 million.


Published on 2011-09-25 23:21:28

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