The Hindu Business Line : GIC earned Rs 500 cr from investments last year

Mr B.P. Deshmukh, General Manager, General Insurance Corporation of India, with Mr E.S. Jayaraman, Managing Director, Credit Analysis & Research Ltd, at a press conference in Mumbai. — Paul Noronha

Mumbai , May 6

GENERAL Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) has booked over Rs 500 crore in terms of profit on sale of investments in the fiscal gone by, according to Mr B.P. Deshmukh, General Manager.

The company has earned returns of around 13-14 per cent on its investment corpus of Rs 10,000 crore on a booked cost basis, he told newspersons on the sidelines of a conference on Thursday to announce a rating assigned to GIC by CARE.

CARE has assigned a `triple A' rating to the claims-paying ability of GIC.

The rating factors in GIC's status in the insurance industry as the national reinsurer, its dominant market share in the Indian reinsurance market, strong solvency position, low operating leverage and good profitability and liquidity, according to senior CARE officials.

It also draws strength from 100 per cent Government ownership, key role played by GIC in increasing the retention of a large portion of reinsurance in India, and good prospects for growth in the insurance sector.

"This is the first time that an Indian reinsurer has been rated and also the first time that an Indian rating agency is rating an Indian reinsurer," said Mr E.S. Jayaraman, Managing Director, CARE.