United India Insurance posts over Rs 600 cr profits

Chennai, May 28 (UNI) United India Insurance Co Ltd, the city-based general insurance major, has registered a net profit of Rs 631.62 crore for the 2007-08 fiscal, an increase of 19.5 per cent over the same period last year.

The company had ended the year with a premium of Rs 3,739.56 crore as against Rs 3,498.77 crore in 2006-07. The growth had come against the backdrop of detariffing by the Regulator in the Fire and Engineering lines of business, which had resulted in a sharp drop in rates in these business segments, a company release here said today.

The Directors have recommended a dividend of 84 per cent, amounting to Rs 126.33 crore for the year ended March 31, 2008.

The positive results have been attributed to improved claims management and administration, coupled with prudent underwriting norms adopted by the company.

The company also leveraged the momentum of the capital market during 2007 to its advantage through careful and value-oriented investing and booking a profit of Rs 901 crore by sale while the market value of the equity portfolio had increased by Rs 1,584.14 crore during the year.

Income from investments was Rs 656 crore in 2007-08, as against Rs 621.18 crore in 2006-07, with the mean yield on investment at 8.04 per cent.

The company had increased its net worth by Rs 483.83 crore to Rs 2,761.86 crore. The solvency ratio of the company was 3.29 at the end of the year, which was significantly higher than the requirement (1.5) prescribed by the Regulator.

UNI SNR GD 1755