Shriram General Insurance plans to focus more on non-auto segments such as marine and fire protection this fiscal to diversify its product portfolio, a senior official said.
Shashi Kant Dahuja, the company’s chief underwriting officer, said auto insurance has been the core business of the Jaipur-based company, accounting for about 92 per cent.
He said that as part of the diversification plan, the company will launch new insurance products in the fields of fire, marine and engineering.
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Read: Shriram General Insurance targets 30% growth, plans to hire 700 employees
“The idea is to double our non-automotive business from the current 7-8 per cent to around 15 per cent in two to three years,” Dahuja told PTI in an interaction.
Non-automotive business grew 70%, he said.
He said that to strengthen its presence in the non-auto business, the company will soon launch products such as cyber insurance, pay-as-you-drive, theft and pet insurance.
“As a business strategy, we do not want to be overly dependent on one vertical and we also want to slowly diversify our products and increase our non-automotive product portfolio to 15 per cent in the next 2-3 years,” he said in response to a question.
Shriram General Insurance reported profit of Rs 98 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, up 37% from the same period last year.
Total premiums written during the quarter were Rs. 5.6 billion, up 39% from Rs. 4.01 billion in the same period last year.
Business Outlook
Regarding the overall business growth target, he said that the company has formulated a plan to grow by 30% this fiscal year.
“This year, our overall business will grow by 30%. Between April and August this year, the general insurance industry grew by 12%, but our growth has been strong and we hope to continue that in the remaining months. Momentum,” he said.
On the surge in electric vehicles in the domestic market, he said sales of electric vehicle insurance policies are growing faster and the company issued policies worth Rs 82 crore in the last fiscal.
“Electric vehicles are a good business for us. Last year, we wrote policies worth Rs 82 crore and while we achieved this target in the first six months of this financial year, we expect that by 2020 The revenue from this segment will touch Rs 200 crore by the end of this financial year,” he said.
Dahuja said the company is also expanding its employee base, with plans to add 700 employees this fiscal year.
“The growth of the business will be driven by aggressive recruitment of staff and agents. We now have 3,780 employees and will recruit a further 700 employees this financial year,” he explained.
“Again, we have close to 63,000 agents and that number will increase to 150,000 in the next few years,” he said.
In the health policy space, he said the company will grow this area as it sees market traction in the “benefits-based health insurance” category.
“Shriram General Insurance will also grow its medical policies business. The insurance company offers two types of products – indemnity-based policies and benefit-based policies. The most widely known health insurance is indemnity-based health insurance, commonly known as medical claims, “He said.
Another product is “benefit-based health insurance,” which is health insurance that pays a predetermined fixed amount for specific medical services or conditions, the chief underwriting officer said.
“Shriram General Insurance has launched benefit-based health products which are gaining popularity in the market. Benefit-based policies are gaining popularity post COVID-19 due to their unique features,” Dahuja said.
He added that unique features include paying a “one-time” or “fixed amount” regardless of actual hospital charges incurred, with no deductions and no inquiries about hospital bills.
