Tata AIG General Insurance Company (Tata AIG General) today announced a 236 per cent growth in profit before tax to Rs24.4 crore for the year ending March 31, 2005 versus Rs7.3 crore a year ago. The profit after tax was Rs12.2 crore (after considering an one time deferred tax reversal of Rs8 crore). The premium income grew by 34 per cent to Rs469 crore from Rs353 crore for the same period.

Commenting on these results, Farrokh Kavarana, chairman, Tata AIG General Insurance Company, said, “We are extremely pleased with our numbers and are confident that through our world-class products and service levels, we will continue to grow strongly.”

Dalip Verma, managing director, Tata AIG General Insurance Company said, “Overall, we are pleased with the results announced which reflect good premium growth in all lines of business. We maintain a disciplined approach to underwriting which is reflected in the loss ratios being amongst the lowest in the industry. We believe that we have laid a strong foundation for future growth.”

Tata AIG General recorded very good top line growth in all classes of business and continued to maintain a balanced portfolio of consumer and corporate insurance sales. During the fiscal year 2004-05, Tata AIG General issued 417,500 policies and settled over 65,462 claims amounting to Rs168 crore. The company also achieved the rural and social sector obligations for its fourth full year of operations.

The company’s gross premium mix comprised of 57 per cent in consumer lines of business and 43 per cent corporate and commercial customers. To build upon the success of web based e-Marine system, launched in 2003-04, the company continues to develop additional web enabled products for policy booking and issuance at point of sale.

The company has further enhanced its claim settlement image by setting industry standards in claim settlement ratios of 99 per cent. This has been made possible by innovations such as:

• e-Claims notification for corporate clients
• Auto restore garages (ARG) for cashless claim settlement with a written warranty
• PDA (personal digital assistant) enabled claims assessment and reporting for speedy settlement of claims

Tata AIG General currently has 20 branches and it distributes products through a professional agency force, brokers and direct customer contacts.

You will also be pleased to note that the board of directors, at the board meeting on May 10, 2005, have agreed to increase the share capital by Rs40 crore to cater to anticipated business growth.