New India Assurance vs ICICI Lombard: Size fails to beat profitability

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and New India Assurance Company (NIA) hit the bourses around the same time in September-November 2017. While the latter is the industry leader, the former rakes the top slot among private general insurers.

With segments such as motor, health, fire and crop insurance being the stronghold of both players, they have nearly the same product profile. Yet, ICICI Lombard is more popular among investors, while fewer people seem optimistic on NIA. The dichotomy in investors’ preference is also visible in the stock price movements (see chart), especially in the past 18 months (since June 2018). 

ICICI Lombard