General insurance premium collections up by 12.3% until May

 India's general insurance sector reported a 12.3 per cent growth in gross premium collection at Rs 16,326 crore for the first two months of the fiscal, as per released by the General Insurance Council (GIC) today.    Four state-run general insurers recorded a 11 per cent growth in premium to Rs 8,567 crore in the first two months of the fiscal till May 31, it said. These companies also expanded their market share to 54 per cent, it said.  Seventeen private sector general insurers, excluding the five specialized health insurers, have grown their top line by 11.7 per cent to Rs 6,948 crore, it said.    "The May figures for the industry, showing 12 per cent growth is looking good. First two months are promising. June is also likely to be positive driven by the revival of industrial growth. We are likely to witness a positive growth for the month of June too," GIC Secretary General R Chandrasekaran told PTI.    Five specialized health insurers have maintained their high pace of growth at Rs 500 crore, up by 47.5 per cent until May.  With premium collection of Rs 3,340 crore, private sector companies in the motor insurance space beat public sector companies, which collected Rs 3,096 crore. The private sector has been the preferred option for motor cover under the damage segment, while the public sector insurers have become the preferred choice for third party cover, which has been made mandatory by the regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.   In marine cargo too, private sector general insurers have mobilized higher premium at Rs 315 crore than their peers in the public sector which collected a premium of Rs 233 crore until May, the data showed.