SBI General Insurance

BANKING

SBI General Insurance 

registers 219% growth

Dec 24, 2012

SBI General Insurance, the general insurance arm of State Bank of India, has successfully scaled up its operation during the current financial year and garnered a Premium Income of Rs. 425.47 Crores during the first 8 months of FY 2012-13, registering an impressive 219% growth.

Commenting on the 8 months performance during the current FY, Mr.Bhaskar Sarma, MD & CEO, SBI General Insurance said, “2012-13 is the year of shifting gear for SBI General Insurance. We have expanded our presence to 30 cities and plans are on to add another 10-15 cities before the end of the FY. We have also added many new products during the year including Business Package Policy to serve the needs of SME segment.  We are extremely delighted with the performance as we were able to establish a strong foundation across Retail, Corporate & SME business segments as well as across various product lines like Fire, Motor, Engineering, Aviation, Home & Personal Accident Insurance during the year. We are now well poised to take-off and accelerate the growth in the next 4 months to cross a GWP level of Rs.700 Crores in this financial year”.

Mr.Sarma said, “Expanding our foot prints to over 14,000 SBI Branches & getting on board the 5 Associate Banks of State Bank of India as our Corporate Agency partners are definitely the key high points for SBI General Insurance over the last eight months.  Adding to that, we take deep satisfaction in SBI General’s achievement in providing Personal Accident Cover for over 5 million Saving Bank Account holders of SBI during this short span of 8 months, thus filling a crucial need in providing a financial safety net for the Account holder’s family. We are extending the same cover to Saving Bank Account holders of SBI’s Associate Banks now”.

The Company, during the first 8 months have issued nearly 400,000 Policies across Retail, SME & Corporate segments.  SBI General currently operates out of 30 locations pan-India and generates 56 per cent of its business from the retail segment. The corporate segment makes up for nearly 27 per cent of its business, while SMEs account for 17 per cent.  SBI General has made significant strides in SME segment during the last financial year. A tough segment to penetrate, SME segment poses a stiff challenge for General Insurers as the industry is still trying to evolve a viable model to serve the segment.

Mr. Sarma further added, “Over the last year we have also put in place few industry leading Claim servicing initiatives in the interest of our customers.  We were also able to demonstrate our sincere approach to settle Third party claims, without excessive waiting”.

Since last year, the company has rapidly expanded its foot print to cover many rural areas as well. The rural sector accounted for 19% of its premium income amounting to Rs. 80.02 Crores during the first 8 months of the current FY.