SBI General Insurance net rises to Rs 251 crore

NEW DELHI: SBI General Insurance net profit soared to a massive Rs 251 crore in September quarter, helped by `170 crore income from its reinsurance portfolio, against Rs 5.5 crore in the year-ago period.

The company’s gross premium increased to Rs 926 crore from Rs 690 crore a year ago, of which crop insurance alone contributed ` 306 crore in the reporting period.

“With a one-time income of 170 crore from reinsurance portfolio, we had an underwriting profit of 156 crore in the second quarter against a loss of `78 crore in year-ago period,” said Pushan Mahapatra, managing director and chief executive of SBI General Insurance.

Driven by motor, fire covers, home insurance, health insurance and farm insurance, the company is targeting a growth of 40 per cent in its gross premium to RS 3,600 crore during the current fiscal, he said, adding, “We will have a balanced growth between topline and bottomline.”

According to Mahapatra, the firm generates almost 55 per cent of its annual premium from SBI Group and other regional banks and would bring it down to 50 per cent in future.