Universal Sompo General Insurance reported 17% growth in its gross premiums to Rs 1,752 crore in the first four months of FY26, outpacing the industry’s 6.36% growth, despite a sluggish motor insurance market. MD & CEO Sharad Mathur tells Narayanan V about the key segments driving this momentum and the company’s strategy for sustaining it. Excerpts:
Which segments are contributing to your premium growth?
Our gross written premium (GWP) has grown by 17% in Q1. Motor insurance share is at a similar level as last year, at 45%. We have seen a strong performance in health insurance, which has grown to 38% in Q1 and it aligns with our strategic intent to expand our health portfolio. Our commercial lines — property, fire, marine, and liability — have shown a significant uptick. These contributed 9% in the previous fiscal year and have now risen to 16% in Q1. We expect health and commercial lines to be our primary growth drivers this year. We are also comfortable in maintaining motor at current levels.
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We see two key reasons shaping the current motor insurance market. First, new vehicle sales declined by approximately 5% in Q1FY26 versus the same period last year. We expect a rebound in the coming quarters, which should aid new business growth. Second, on renewals, there has been significant discounting across the industry to attract more customers. It may boost policy volumes but moderate the premium growth. Even if more vehicles are insured, the absolute premium collected may appear stagnated due to lower average pricing.
Only 30% of our motor business is from new vehicles, while the remaining 70% is rollover and renewal business. We are witnessing a positive trend in uninsured vehicles coming into our fold, particularly from our allocated state of Andhra Pradesh. In rural markets, we are observing a notable segment of customers who had insured their vehicles two years ago but skipped renewal last year, now returning to renew their policies. This segment is significantly contributing to the growth of our renewal and rollover portfolio, which is expanding at a faster pace than our new business.
Has the absence of a price revision in motor third-party premiums impacted you?
This is a critical issue because the industry operates with a shared premium pool from which claims are paid.
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