 "ICICI Lombard Q3 results: Profit up 22% at Rs 431 crore as premiums climb")
India's ICICI Lombard General Insurance on Tuesday reported a 22.4% rise in third-quarter profit, helped by a growth in premiums and investment income.
Profit after tax rose to 4.31 billion rupees (nearly $52 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31 from 3.53 billion rupees ($42.61 million) a year earlier, the ICICI Bank - backed company said in an exchange filing.
ICICI Lombard, a non-life insurer, offers insurance for health, fire, and motor segments.
Motor insurance, the company's biggest segment, contributed 50.8% to the total premium earned, while its fastest growing health insurance segment posted 42.4% growth.
India saw bumper vehicle sales in the quarter due to the festive and wedding seasons, resulting in a rise in policies for general insurers.
Net premium earned during the quarter rose 13.5% to 43.05 billion rupees.
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Income from investments - another key metric - rose nearly 15% to 6.66 billion rupees in the December-quarter.
The insurer's combined ratio, an important profitability metric for an insurance firm's underwriting business, improved to 103.6% from 104.4% a year ago.
The combined ratio measures the incurred losses and operating expenses as a percentage of premium collected. It does not take into account income from investments.