General Insurance Corporation, India’s largest reinsurance company, posted an 89 per cent increase in profit after tax at ₹1,809 crore for the half year ended September 30.

Gross premium income rose 51 per cent to ₹24,404 crore during the six-month period. This was the first results announcement of the company after its listing last month.

Announcing the results Alice Vaidyan, CMD of GIC Re, said that agriculture and marine portfolios have turned profitable and there was overall growth in all segments which saw underwriting profits being made in this quarter.

Underwriting profits were ₹92 crore in the first half of the fiscal against an underwriting loss of ₹474 crore in the corresponding period last year.

GIC Re has a 60 per cent market share and expects to maintain the market leadership, she said. GIC Re is ranked the 12th largest global re-insurer.

Agricultural insurance, with the introduction of the Prime Minister’s Fasal Bima Yojana, has been a key driver of growth. This rose 96 per cent to ₹11,091 crore in the first half. She said that the international primary insurance sector is expected to grow 4.5 per cent during 2017 and 2018. The impact of recent hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria is expected to cause losses for all re-insurers to the tune of about $100 billion, she said.

While not quantifying the exact loss that GIC Re would bear on account of these catastrophes since the assessments are still being made, she said that the net loss for the company would be limited to $15 million (₹100 crore) for each event. She said that the combined ratio for the company is 99.4 per cent for the half year, compared with 99.1 per cent for H1 FY17.

The solvency ratio of 1.72 as on September 30 is above the minimum required solvency ratio of 1.50. The GIC scrip closed at ₹811.25, down ₹8.60 on the BSE on Monday.

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