Mumbai: Claims related to Kovid may come down. but health and motor insurance Seeing inflationary pressures and a high incidence of claims. according to general Insurance MD and CEO Bhargava Dasgupta, it is too early to say whether this is a structural change.

“There was a decrease in Covid claims, but we are seeing a change in non-Covid claims – medically serious events requiring elective surgery, hospitalization and non-elective surgery,” Dasgupta said. He said there is a need to look at the data and see to what extent hospitals are following elective surgeries and advanced practices due to the new protocol.

health insurance The claims saw a jump in the second wave of the pandemic. This resulted in worsening loss ratio in the health business in FY22. with the ups and downs of Epidemic, covid Claims have declined. However, increased mobility has led to an increase in motor accident claims. “On the motor side also we have seen an increase in frequency in the first quarter. Overall, there is a inflation Pressure on the cost of claims,” Dasgupta said.

ICICI Lombard is trying to diversify its business by expanding into other segments. It has devised a growth strategy MSME Business. “MSMEs are a very under-penetrated category, and we feel that with a strong service proposition and a good delivery mode, we can scale up the opportunity,” Dasgupta said. According to him, this segment, which is growing at 25 per cent and now with a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore, can turn profitable.

Traditionally, business lines of business are written by insurance specialists after which the policy is issued. ICICI Lombard has used artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a software engine that can issue about 90% of policies without human intervention. It also has technical expertise, strong balance sheet and reinsurance treaties to support the business, which many others do not have.

The company is expanding its motor business by introducing new range of products like umbrella policy for all vehicles. “In two-wheelers, there is an under-penetration problem as owners forget to renew the policy. But they don’t forget to renew the car insurance. By offering it along with insurance for the car, continuity can be ensured,” Dasgupta said.

In addition, the company has launched ‘Pay As You Drive’ and ‘Pay How You Drive’ policies which charge premium based on the quality and quantity of driving using telematics. According to Dasgupta, after health, another new driver of business could be cyber risk which is now largely a corporate business. ICICI Lombard has taken it to retail.

“Drones should become a huge opportunity, and we have a product for drone insurance. I think there is a lot of opportunity in mobile handset insurance and extended warranties for consumer goods. These are still small segments but growing very rapidly. are,” Dasgupta said.