Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company (NIVABUPA) Q4 15/16 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY16 gross written premium rose 28% YoY to Rs 476.01 crore; net loss narrowed 27% to Rs 68.50 crore, with operating and underwriting losses still substantial.

• Solvency ratio improved to 2.16x from 2.10x, exceeding the 1.50x regulatory requirement; management expense ratio declined to 57% from 72%.

Financial highlights

• Net earned premium increased to Rs 393.11 crore from Rs 315.24 crore; net claims incurred rose to Rs 234.02 crore from Rs 182.20 crore.

• Underwriting loss improved to Rs 106.95 crore from Rs 122.97 crore; operating loss was Rs 81.47 crore versus Rs 105.01 crore.

• Net loss after tax was Rs 68.50 crore versus Rs 93.31 crore; basic and diluted EPS improved to -Rs 0.82 from -Rs 1.28.

• Investment income allocated to the revenue account was Rs 25.48 crore; investment income in the P&L account was Rs 17.56 crore.

Outlook and guidance

• FY17 priorities include profitable B2C growth through agency and bancassurance, improved persistency, claims controls, product refinement, service improvements, cost optimization and digital capability.

• Digital plans target unmet customer needs and stronger direct-channel economics; agency priorities include agent digital enablement, fixed-benefit adoption and supervisor capability development.