Reliance General Q1 premium up 25 percent to Rs.706 crore

Chennai, July 12 (IANS) Reliance General Insurance Company closed the first quarter of the current fiscal with a 25 percent growth in gross written premium as against the comparable period of the previous financial year, the private non-life insurer said Friday.

In a statement, the company, a part of Reliance Capital, said it had "registered 25 percent increase in Gross Written Premium at Rs.706 crore during Q1 FY14 (first quarter of fiscal 2013-14). The Company recorded 110 percent growth in health insurance premium at Rs.169 crore in Q1 FY14, up from Rs.81 crore in the same quarter last year".

"Our strategy to change business and product mix, optimise use of technology, manage costs and expand our retail agent base has helped us achieve a significant turnaround in performance," Rakesh Jain, CEO, was quoted as saying in the statement.

He said the company was focusing on non-motor insurance segment, individual agency and online channels to drive our growth.

Reliance General has reduced its dependence on motor insurance as compared to the corresponding quarter last year, he added.

The company increased its agency force by 14 percent during the first quarter to 11,500 agents and plans to have 15,000 agents by the end of this fiscal.

During the first quarter, Reliance General enrolled more than 10 million lives in Kerala under the state government's health insurance scheme, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).

This is the highest in any such scheme, and with a coverage ratio at over 85 per cent of the specified target group, the company said.

The company has also started covering Kharif crop in three states under the crop insurance scheme.