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Rating agency Icra Ratings in its latest report has said that general insurance industry's gross direct premium income (GDPI) is expected to grow by 10-12 per cent in the current fiscal (FY23) on account of rising awareness of medical insurance and improvement in economic activity. It stated the GDPI of public sector (PSU) insurers is expected to grow moderately at 4-6 per cent, while private insurers are expected to capture market share by growing at a higher rate of 13-15 per cent in FY23.

It further stated already the resumption of economic activity after the waning of Covid-19 infections has led to the industry's GDPI growth recovering by an estimated 11 per cent in FY2022 compared to a 4 per cent growth in FY2021. The GDPI of private sector insurers likely grew at a faster rate of 14 per cent compared to the growth of 5 per cent witnessed by PSU insurers in FY2022. In the 11 months of FY22, the gross premium from the health segment experienced a steep Y-o-Y growth of 26 per cent, while the fire segment premium grew by 8 per cent despite partial lockdowns across the country.

Moreover, it said the combined ratio across the industry deteriorated to 119 per cent in the nine months of FY2022 from 112 per cent in the year ago period with increase in health claims. Covid claims accounted for 6 per cent of the total number of health claims paid in FY2021 and are expected to form around 11-12 per cent of the total number of health claims paid in FY2022. The combined ratio for the industry is expected to improve in FY2023 driven by lower health claims and likely improvement in risk pricing by the insurers.