The renewals in India in P&C(Property & Casualty) should be relatively stable both on the proportional and on the non-proportional side. 2021 has been a benign year for us from catastrophic losses point of view in India. said Sven Althoff, member, (P&C), executive board, Hannover Re, to Asia Insurance Post
Mumbai:
Despite hardening of rates globally, Hannover Re, the third largest global reinsurer, doesn’t expect any price hike in the Indian market for the forthcoming April 1 renewals.
The renewals in India in P&C(Property & Casualty) should be relatively stable both on the proportional and on the non-proportional side, said Sven Althoff, member, (P&C), executive board, Hannover Re, to Asia Insurance Post from Hannover.
Indian market has remained a profitable as well as a growing business for Germany’s multinational reinsurer.
“ 2021 has been a benign year for us from catastrophic losses point of view in India. The pricing at the forthcoming Apr 01 renewals will be stable. Except for the first two years after we set up our foreign reinsurance branch(FRB) in India ( 2017) , we have positive experience there in all these years,’’ he said.
According to Althoff, a price hike in the fire portfolio, a major business for the reinsurer in the Indian market one year back, and a benign 2021 in the Indian market, have helped the company to build a profitable balance sheet for its Indian FRB.
Talking about Hannover Re’s life reinsurance business Klaus Miller, member (Life &Health), executive board, Hannover said, “We don’t have much exposure in Indian life reinsurance market. We haven’t paid much Covid claims in Indian market. Though, we do large ticket business focusing on longevity and financial solutions globally, we don’t do them in India.”
Indian life reinsurance market is a tight and competitive market, he added.
“ We will be careful in writing any business here. The prices in the forthcoming renewals also likly to go up,” indicated Miller.
“As far as Covid- claims are concerned, USA, Latin America, and South Africa have been very challenging for Hannover Re, he informed.
Hannover Re doesn’t have much ambitious targets in India but would like to grow it in a normal manner as macro figure shows it is an underpenetrated market, he said.
One among 11 Indian FRBs, Hannover Re has mobilised a total premium of Rs 1292 crore in FY 2020-21 over Rs 1246 crore in FY 2019-20.
Hannover Re’s Indian FRB has emerged as the fourth largest entity in India. Led by state- owned GIC Re, the country has a total reinsurance market of Rs 44,333 crore in FY 2020-21.
The majority of Hannover’s business currently comes from traditional lines of business like fire, engineering and liability with equal contribution from the agriculture segment. It also offers structured reinsurance solutions programs that also contribute significantly to its Indian portfolio.
In line with its group strategy to develop the Asia-Pacific Region, the reinsurer had initiated in 2020 development of personal line reinsurance business in India. Despite the current Covid-19 challenge, the reinsurer very much in line with our business plan target.
Crop reinsurance contributes majorly to Hannover’s Indian portfolio – both on top line and bottom line. Its performance in the agricultural reinsurance segment is in line with the overall Indian market performance and as per its internal expectation.
In general, the market and its performance is well aligned with the spatial and temporal distribution of monsoon and it will continue to focus on agriculture business as a major segment.
The company has also introduced title insurance in the Indian market.
In life reinsurance side, Hannover has introduced a multi payment critical illness product and vector borne fixed benefit plan. It has worked on a wellness-based critical illness product and this will be launched soon in the market with one of the growing private life insurance companies in India.
The company is supporting a pocket sized critical illness product on a group platform, which will be sold through online wallet sites whose roll out is in the final stages now..
The reinsurer is currently writing group term insurance, group credit life insurance, individual savings life insurance, critical illness insurance on Individual as well as group platforms.