Tata AIG hopeful of 15-16% growth this year

MUMBAI: Tata AIG General Insurance is hopeful of posting a growth rate of 15-16 per cent that should be better than industry average for this fiscal, a top company official said.

"Industry growth has come down to around 15 per cent. Month-by-month trend is not encouraging... we have grown at 18 per cent as of now....we will be closing the year by 15-16 per cent if this trend continues, which should be better than the industry average," Tata AIG chief executive Kaushal K Mishra told PTI in an interaction here.

Domestic slowdown has dragged down auto, infra and other key commercial lines of businesses for the general insurance industry, which has resulted in dip in industry growth. However, Mishra said some key focus areas will drive growth for the company.

"We are focusing on some areas which will drive growth for us, like expanding our geographical reach. We are planning to expand our branch strength to 100 early next fiscal from the current 78 offices. Also, we are focusing on our strength areas like marine cargo," Mishra said, adding health insurance will be another key focus area.

Talking about the growth in marine insurance in this fiscal given the momentum seen in exports, Mishra said the insurer expects this segment to pick up from next fiscal.

"Marine insurance is not likely to pick up this fiscal. But, we expect next fiscal will be good...," Mishra added.

Tata AIG General Insurance is a joint venture between Tata and the US-based insurer-AIG in which Tata holds the majority stake, and had a gross written premium collection of Rs 1,050 crore in the April-August period of this fiscal.