New Delhi: Net incurred claims to net earned premium, known as claims ratio of non-life insurance industry stood at 82.52 per cent during 2023-24 as against 82.95 per cent in the preceding fiscal year, according to the annual report issued by of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) for the year 2023-24.
According to the Irdai report, during 2023-24, the non-life insurance industry underwrote a total direct premium of Rs 2.90 lakh crore in India registering a growth of 12.76 per cent from previous year. “The contribution of public sector general insurers increased 8.88 per cent from Rs 82,891 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 90,252 crore in 2023-24. Private sector insurers, including standalone health insurers, have underwritten Rs 1.88 lakh crore as against Rs 1.58 lakh crore in 2022-23,” it said.
The aggregate profit of the non-life insurance sector was Rs 10,119 crore as against a net loss of Rs 2,566 crore in 2022-23. “During 2023-24, the aggregate net incurred claims saw a 15.39 per cent increase to Rs 1.72 lakh crore from Rs 1.49 lakh crore. The incurred claims ratio or net incurred claims to net earned premium of the non-life insurance industry was 82.52 per cent during 2023-24 as against 82.95 per cent of the previous year,” the report said.
As per the report, the incurred claims ratio for public sector insurers was 97.23 per cent for 2023-24 as against the previous year's incurred claims ratio of 99.02 per cent. “The incurred claims ratio for private sector general insurers, standalone health insurers and specialised insurers were at 76.49 per cent, 63.63 per cent, and 66.58 per cent, respectively, for 2023-24 as compared to the previous year's ratio of 75.13 per cent, 61.44 per cent and 73.71 per cent, respectively,” it said.
The report also said that the life insurance industry paid total benefits of Rs 5.77 lakh crore in 2023-24, constituting 70.22 per cent of the net premium. “The benefits paid on account of surrenders/withdrawals increased 15.29 per cent to Rs 2.29 lakh crore in 2023-24 of which public sector life insurers accounted for 58.36 per cent,” the report added.
During 2023-24, the report said, a total of 18 life insurance companies reported profits. Profits of the life insurance industry grew 10.79 per cent in 2023-24 with profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 47,407 crore as against Rs 42,788 crore in 2022-23. “Public sector life insurers reported an 11.75 per cent increase in profits, while private sector life insurers reported up by 5.32 per cent in profit in 2023-24,” it added.