The uncertainty over the personal and financial health of the public resulting from the pandemic and its spillover effects on the general insurance industry will persist longer as the loss of livelihoods and worsening income disparities have drastically increased. changed consumption patterns, warns an actor in the sector.
The general insurance industry has already been hit hard by increasing claims from their health insurance verticals due to the pandemic. The two waves of the deadly viral infection have so far bled the general insurance industry to the tune of around Rs 27,000 crore as more than 2 million customers have made claims across the world. industry until early July, according to Roopam Asthana, managing director and managing director of non-life insurance middleman Liberty General Insurance.
Of this, all of FY’21 saw only claims worth Rs 14,500 crore from around 9.8 lakh from customers. In contrast, the first three months of FY’22 alone saw nearly 12 lakh clients requesting over Rs 13,000 crore in reimbursement or cashless hospitalization, he said and added that he did not This is just the second wave and no one knows what’s in store for the industry as the world fears a third wave. Uncertainty has reigned in our personal and professional lives for a long time. The pandemic has dramatically altered consumption patterns, as a large majority of the public has suffered loss of income, partial or permanent, ”Asthana told PTI.
The general insurance industry closed FY21 with a gross written premium of Rs.198,724 crore with modest growth as its flagship automotive business was hit hard, which was partially offset by uncontrollable sales of health insurance.
Liberty closed FY21 with Rs 1,446 crore in premiums or 0.73% of the overall pie, he said, adding that in the healthcare vertical its market share was 0.4% and that the proportion of the claim was also similar, Asthana said, without disclosing the actual number of health claims he had so far.
It closed the first quarter of fiscal 22 with Rs 337 crore in premium income, led by Rs 170 crore in engine premium and Rs 80.5 crore in health and Rs 86.4 crore in commercial premium, did he stated and admitted that the quarter had been a failure although there was some engine pull and health at first. But on a net basis, the quarter was a failure, he said.
Consumption is the biggest challenge as health now dominates every family’s top priority and this will persist for years to come as insurance will be a low priority for the average majority, Asthana said. It will be catastrophic for insurers with large healthcare portfolios, as what the industry has gained from the automotive segment due to lockdowns has been lost on the healthcare front through higher claims, a- he warned and said the introduction of universal health coverage is the need of the hour.
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
