General insurance industry's premium income up 20% in Apr

The general insurance industry, comprising four public sector entities, grew by 20% in April this year compared to the same month last year.

The total gross premium of 23 players in the non-life insurance market rose by 20% to Rs 5,252.24 crore in the first month of the current fiscal, from Rs 4,381.49 crore in April 2010, as per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) data.

The four PSU entities -- National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance --saw their gross premium collection rising by 14.45% YoY to Rs 2,956.55 crore in April. At the end of April, the four entities accounted for over 56% of the total general insurance industry.

Amongst the private sector players, ICICI Lombard saw its premium income rising by 20% to Rs 587 crore. The premium income of HDFC Ergo grew by 43.37% to Rs 230.05 crore and that of Reliance General Insurance by 52% to Rs 210.64 crore in April.