Insurance premiums are expected to remain under pressure due to slowing automobile sales in India, according to Subramanyam Brahmajosyula, head of underwriting and reinsurance at SBI General Insurance.
Any slowdown in the auto sector will clearly have an impact on the insurance industry as well, Brahmajosyula told BloombergQuint in a conversation, adding that the upcoming Dussehra-Diwali festival season might restore growth in the sector.
By the end of the fourth-quarter, we could perhaps see the automobile sector and the insurance industry premiums going back to the levels they were in a year or so ago, he said.
Demand for cars and two-wheelers slowed since September last year as compulsory third-party multi-year insurance costs increased upfront. Discounts, too, failed to lift demand, forcing automakers to cut production as inventory piled up.
Yet, that won't affect SBI General Insurance as it isn't solely reliant on auto insurance—one of its largest segments—to drive growth, he said.
“Health is a huge opportunity for the insurance industry,” Brahmajosyula said, adding the government's Ayushman Bharat scheme has benefited insurers. He identified small and medium enterprises as well as property insurance as pockets of growth for the company.
Watch the full interview here:
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