State-owned Oriental Insurance has posted Rs 1,510 crore profit for the financial year ended March 31, 2018 with improvement in treasury income and restructuring of business strategy. The company had booked loss of Rs 1,691 crore in 2016-17.
The company collected gross premium of Rs 11,737 crore in 2017-18, as against Rs 11,117 crore in the previous fiscal.
The investment income of the insurance increased with improvement in treasury operation to Rs 3,323 crore from Rs 2,341 crore in the FY'17.
"At the beginning of 2017-18, our company had consciously committed to improve the quality of business and consolidate financial strength. As a result, our measured approach to growth saw us moderating our health insurance business as against market growth largely due to pruning of loss making portfolios," Oriental Insurance CMD A V Girijakumar told reporters.
Oriental has grown broadly at par with the market in respect of motor business which is largest portfolio, he said.
Underwriting losses have come down to Rs 1,923 crore as against Rs 43,36 crore in the previous fiscal.
The solvency margin of the company improved to 1.67 last fiscal, from 1.11 in the 2016-17.
As per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India guidelines the insurance companies should maintain a solvency margin of 1.5.
At the same time the combined ratio of the company also enhanced to 117 per cent from 148 per cent in the previous year.
There was a proposal by the government to merge three public sector general insurance companies (PSGICs) -- National Insurance Company Ltd, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and United India Insurance Company Ltd.
The then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Budget speech had announced earlier this year that the three companies would be merged into a single insurance entity. The process of merger is likely to be completed during the current fiscal.
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