The New India Assurance Company Limited (NIACL.NS) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the conference call of The New India Assurance Company Limited arranged by Concept Investor Relations to discuss its Q3 and nine months FY '26 results. We have with us today Mrs. Girija Subramanian, Chairman cum Managing Director; Mrs. Kasturi Sengupta, Executive Director, General Manager and Chief Financial Officer, among other esteemed management members. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand over the floor to Mrs. Girija Subramanian, Chairman cum Managing Director. Thank you, and I now hand over the floor to you. Over to you, ma'am.

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Girija Subramanian, Chairman cum Managing Director of The New India Assurance Company Limited. I warmly welcome all of you to this earnings conference call to discuss our financial and operational performance for the third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2025. Joining me on this call are Mrs. Kasturi Sengupta, Executive Director, our General Managers, Chief Financial Officer and other senior officials of the company. At the outset, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to our shareholders, investors, analysts, policyholders and all stakeholders for their continued trust and support. Your confidence and engagement remain a key source of strength for the company. Before diving into the numbers, I'm proud to share significant third-party validations of our financial stability. In December 2025, AM Best, a global credit rating agency, revised our outlook to positive from stable while reaffirming our financial strength rating of B++ Good and long-term issuer credit rating of BBB+. This revision specifically recognizes our improving trend in enterprise risk management and the strengthening of our internal systems and audit controls. New India Assurance stands at an important phase of this journey carrying forward a legacy of over 106 years while steadily adapting to the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry. Established in 1919 and nationalized in 1973, the company has played a foundational role in the development of India's general insurance sector. Today, with a pan-India network of over 1,660 offices and an overseas presence across 24 countries, we continue to maintain leadership in the Indian non-life insurance market in terms of gross direct premium. Our strategic focus remains clearly defined and consistent. We continue to prioritize risk-weighted and sustainable growth, strengthen underwriting discipline, enhance claims efficiency and service quality, leverage technology to improve operational effectiveness and preserve capital strength and solvency. These principles guide our decision-making across business cycles. During the quarter, the general insurance industry operated in a competitive environment with selective pricing pressures and elevated claims experience in certain segments. As per General Insurance Council data for December 2025, the Indian general insurance industry reported a gross direct premium of INR 2.5 lakh crores registering a year-on-year growth of 8.69%. Against this backdrop, New India Assurance underwrote gross direct premium of INR 32,229 crores, translating into a market share of approximately 13.40%, reinforcing our continued leadership position in the sector. Our diversified distribution architecture and balanced product portfolio continue to support stable performance while managing acquisition costs and risk concentration. For the nine months ended FY '26, our distribution mix comprised direct at 31.15%, brokers at 37%, agency at 24.39%, dealers at 6.9% and bancassurance at 0.56%. Our product mix remained well diversified with health and personal accident at 48.16%, fire at 15.52%, motor own damage at 11.10%, motor third-party at 13.04%, marine at 2.43%, crop at 0.37% and other segments accounting for 9.35%. Over the past few quarters, we have taken deliberate steps to recalibrate our portfolio by exiting or restructuring select large corporate accounts where pricing did not adequately compensate for risk of capital consumption. This has been offset by an increased focus on retail, SME and better quality risk. Our operating philosophy continues to emphasize prudent risk assessment at the policy level, ensuring that growth is aligned with profitability and capital efficiency. The benefits of this approach are reflected in improved portfolio stability and controlled volatility. Turning to our financial performance for the quarter ended Q3 FY '26. Gross written premium global was INR 11,680 crores, while net premiums earned stood at INR 9,725 crores. The company reported a net profit after tax of INR 372 crores for the quarter compared to INR 353 crores in the corresponding period last year. From an operating metrics perspective for Q3 FY '26, the net incurred claim ratio stood at 90.7%. The commission ratio and expense ratio were at 10.78% and 16.44% of the net premium, respectively. The combined ratio for the quarter was reported at 117.98%. Solvency ratio stood at 1.81x, remaining comfortably above the regulatory requirement and the return on equity for the quarter was 6.63%. For the nine months ended FY '26, the gross written premium income global stood at INR 35,555 crores. Net profit after tax for the period stood at INR 826 crores. For nine months FY '26, the net incurred claim ratio was reported at 99. 63% with the commission ratio and expense ratio at 9.80% and 14.56% of net premium, respectively. The combined ratio stood at 124%. Solvency ratio remained strong at 1.81x and the return on equity for the period was 4.95%. While near-term challenges such as claims inflation and competitive intensity persist, we remain confident that our continued focus on disciplined underwriting, operational efficiency and customer-centric initiatives will support stable and sustainable performance. Our emphasis remains on long-term value creation while upholding the highest standards of governance and service excellence. With this, I conclude my opening remarks and now invite our General Manager of Finance, Mrs. Mary Abraham, to take you through the financial performance in greater detail.

Thank you, ma'am, and good afternoon all. So I'd like to take you through the financial performance of New India for the quarter and up to the quarter ended 31st December 2025 as well as the performance of New India as compared to the vis-a-vis the industry and the company's strategy. Beginning with the financial performance. For the quarter ended 31st December 2025, our gross written premium was INR 11,680 crores as compared to that of the previous year of INR 10,778 crores with a growth of 8.37%. And after the quarter, our growth in gross written premium was 10.47% as compared to the previous year. Coming to the incurred claims ratio, it was 90.77% for the quarter ended December 2025 as compared to that of the previous year, which was 94.49%. So there was a reduction of 4%. And this is as against the figures up to the quarter, which stood at 97.38% for last year as compared to 99.62% for the current year, and this was mainly because of the half yearly -- the increase in the ICR up to the half year, that is September 30, 2025. The commission ratio on net written premium was 10.78% for the quarter as compared to 9.70% for the quarter of the previous year. Operating expenses for the quarter of the current year was 16.44% as compared to 12.09% of the previous year, and this was mainly due to the provision that was made for the wage revision as per the approval given by the central government, and we are awaiting the notification. The combined ratio was 117.98% for the quarter of the current year as compared to 116.28% for the quarter of the previous year. This, once again, the increase is because of the wage revision provision that has been made. Coming to the underwriting results, it is a loss of INR 1,736 crores. And up to the quarter, the loss was INR 7,046 crores. However, with the investment income that we were able to earn in the quarter of INR 2,280 crores and the interest dividend and rent of INR 1,200 crores and the capital gains of INR 1,080 crores, net of the other expenses of INR 174 crores, we were able to make a profit before tax of INR 367 crores for the quarter as compared to INR 116 crores for the quarter of the previous year. The underwriting results were mainly impacted by the provision towards wage arrears and the retirement benefits of active employees, where we had provided INR 759 crores for quarter 3 of the financial year '25-'26 and INR 1,877 crores for the nine months ended 31st December 2025. After making provisions for tax, our profit after tax stood at INR 372 crores for the quarter of this year as compared to INR 353 crores for the third quarter of the previous year. So it's notable here that the PBT, the profit before tax recorded an increase of INR 215 crores, 15% as compared to that of last year. Income from the fixed income securities and dividend income from equity showed a steady increase during the period, while buoyant equity markets helped in realizing higher capital gains. And besides, we also had monetized investments to help in the provision that we made for the wage revision. Going on to some of the important ratios. The important ratios. The solvency ratio -- next slide. The solvency ratio up to quarter 3 of '25-'26 is 1.81x as compared to 1.9x of last year. However, it's notable that our solvency ratio increased from 1.79x in quarter 2 of the current year to quarter 3 of the current year. Assets under management up to the quarter increased from INR 97,690 crores last year to INR 100,890 crores in the current year. Technical reserve after the quarter increased from INR 52,536 crores last year to INR 56,745 crores in the current year. Net worth after the quarter increased from INR 21,516 crores to INR 22,630 crores in the current year. Fair value change account, which was INR 24,991 crores last year up to the quarter, reduced to INR 19,993 crores in -- up to the quarter of the current year, mainly because of the volatile market condition and also because of the monetization of investment that we had done to finance our wage revision provision. And the return on equity, which stood at 4.01% after the quarter last year, increased to 4.95% after the quarter of the current year. Coming to the segment-wise performance. For the quarter, fire registered, fire line of business registered an increase of 4.06%. And after the quarter, the increase was 15.31%. Marine had a very significant increase of 19.46% for the quarter with an increase of 9.01% after the quarter. Motor, including OD and TP premium, had a minus growth of 0.89% for the quarter. And after the quarter also, it was a minus figure of 1.18%. And this was because of the conscious decision that we were making to realign some of our product-wise premiums where we did not want to continue in lines which were incurring losses, huge losses. Health, including PA, registered a good growth of 18.42% in the current quarter. And up to the quarter 2, the growth was good at 16.15%. Liability for the quarter increased by 21.42%, while the liability premium after the quarter registered an increase of 8.5%. Engineering showed an increase of 16.46% for the quarter, and it was an increase of 15.51% after the quarter. Aviation, there was a minus of 5.14% in the current quarter due to some premium which did not come in, whereas up to the quarter, there is a growth of 1.1%. The others -- all the other business LOBs put together, for the quarter, there was a reduction of 26.14%, mainly because the crop premium did not come to us. And up to the quarter, however, there is a growth of 7.08%. Going over to the incurred claims ratio segment-wise. The ICR for fire improved from 54% -- sorry, it's not improved, it worsened from 54% to 65% for the quarter. And up to the quarter, it was 81%. For marine, marine, again, the ICR for the quarter was adverse at 119%, which is mainly due to some very large claims that came in, especially due to two of the ships that sank and the resultant GA claims, the fire claim that was there on one of the ships and a ship that sank resulting in a large marine cargo claim. Motor, the ICR, both OD and TP put together, the ICR for the quarter was 108% as compared to 102% last year. And this was, as mentioned earlier, was because of the decision being taken to weed out some of the nonviable product lines. Health, including PA, registered a remarkable decline for the quarter from 103% to 91%. And up to the quarter 2, there was a decrease from 103% to 101%. Liability too showed a reduction in the ICR for the quarter from 57% to 21%. And up to the quarter, it was a reduction of -- from 59% to 51%. Engineering, the ICR for the quarter stood at 3% as against 37% of the previous year. And up to the quarter, it was -- the ICR was 52% as compared to 54% of the last year. Aviation, the ICR for the quarter stood at 149% as compared to 106%. This was mainly due to the Air India claim that we had. And the ICR up to the quarter was 323% as compared to 78% of the last year. And all the other lines of business, the ICR for the quarter stood at 52%. It was a reduction from last year's figure of 76%. And up to the quarter, the figure was 79% as compared to 69% of the previous year. Coming to the performance of NIA vis-a-vis that of the industry. The general insurance industry grew by 8.69% in quarter 3 financial year '25-'26 whereas New India's domestic gross direct premium income grew by 13.71%, outpacing the industry growth. And the year-on-year market share increased from 12.8% to 13.40%. The growth momentum continued in December 2025 with company outpacing the industry growth. The market share segment-wise, in the fire, the fire LOB, while New India had a total premium of INR 4,028 crores out of the total market share of INR 22,769 crores, which was a market share of 17.69%. For marine, our market share is 18.19%. In motor, we have a market share of 9.63%. In health and PA, we have a market share of 16.44%. For crop, it is 0.03%. And all the other lines of business, it is 17.12%. The company's strategy. Our segment mix. Health accounts for 48.16%, motor TP accounts for 13.04% of our total premium, motor OD is 11.10%, marine stands at 2.43%, fire is at 15.52%, the other -- crop is 0.37% and all the other lines of business is 9.35%. And as for our distribution mix, brokers account for 37% of our total premium, agency accounts for 24.39%. Direct business accounts for 31.15%, bancassurance accounts for 0.56% and dealer business accounts for 6.90%. Key initiatives for the financial year '25-'26. We're launching innovative new products with focus on retail and MSME. We have entered new lines like parametric insurance. There's emphasis on growth in segments other than motor and health, where the competition intensity is high. And there's further impetus on risk management initiatives, and we have taken steps to improve the global credit rating. The key initiatives, IT initiatives that have been taken. We have a call center offering services in seven regional languages. We have revamped our [Technical Difficulty]

Ladies and gentlemen, the management line has been disconnected. Please hold while we get them reconnect. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being on hold. The management has been connected now. Over to you ma'am.

Hello. Just continuing with the key IT initiatives. We have call center offering services in seven regional languages. We have revamped our website, WhatsApp service in eight languages, which offer policy and claim-related services. We have AI and ML-enabled chatbot for customer service. Claim automation efforts continue for faster claim settlements and customer portal offering a seamless user experience for standard products. Thank you.

Can we open the floor for questions?

It's done, yes. It is done. Yes, yes.

We will now begin the questions-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of [ Rachana from FinSim ].

Two data and business related questions. [indiscernible]

We can't hear you clearly. Can you repeat this question? We can't hear you clearly.

Okay. I will repeat my question. Is it clear now?

Can be a little louder.

Okay. Has reserve release, which is IBNR, also contributes to decline in claims ratio...

Sorry to interrupt Rachana. We're unable to hear you. Can you please use the handset mode.

My question was, has the IBNR reserve release, which has seen a decline from INR 547 crores to around INR 85 crores, has that also resulted into a decline in claims ratio? Or how should I read this? This is my first question.

Yes. I can answer that question. There is no particular decline per se as far as the core lines like motor third party are concerned. However, what happens is there are lines like crop where initially you set aside reserve in the form of IBNR and later when the claims are actually paid out, corresponding IBNR comes down. So, in this quarter, we did see quite a lot of payments on our crop business, which led to a reduction of IBNR. So if you exclude crop, there has been -- the IBNR estimates have been pretty consistent with what it was during the first half. And there is no specific release per se as far as the results are concerned.

Okay. Understood. My second question is on the investment book. If we see the investment book has not grown so much. It's grown only by 3%. But if we see our investment income and yield on investment, they have improved quite a lot year-on-year. So if you could provide some color on that piece as well.

Yes, I'm Chandra here. So the yield has increased because of the -- what Mary ma'am has mentioned during the presentation, we have sold some bit of equity to realize profit, and that is why the overall income on investment has increased. This is a onetime thing, which is done for accommodating the wage revision expense.

Okay. And on investment book, if you could provide some color?

About? Sorry.

The growth. The growth on investment book.

Yes, because we have sold, like I just mentioned. So accordingly, to some extent, it has come down, the value -- investment book value has not grown to the extent that would have been there in previous quarters.

Last question. I understand we have exited group unprofitable business in group [indiscernible]

Sorry to interrupt Rachana. We're unable to hear you.

Hello. Am I audible?

Your voice is muffling. Please rejoin the queue.

Okay.

The next question is from the line of Shobhit Sharma from HDFC Securities Limited.

Hope I am audible. So my first question is on the growth side. So if I look at on the motor side, though you have mentioned that we are recalibrating our portfolio and because of which we have slowed down. So can you help us understand how long it will take to stabilize? And how should we see the growth trajectory from next year onwards? And if you can give us some color on the composition of our motor portfolio between the private car, 2-wheeler and commercial vehicle, how it has moved and what changes we have incorporated? If you can give some numbers around it, that would be helpful. And lastly, on the motor side of the business, if you can give us some composition in terms of the business which we have sourced in the form of new vehicles and old vehicles, that would be helpful. Why I wanted to know this is because on the health side, though we have taken a number of measures, the result on the loss ratio is quite visible. But on the motor side, though I understand TP is a long tail, but on the OD side, ideally, it should be visible if you have taken that kind of stance. So this is my first thing, yes.

Thank you, Shobhit, for your question. So the growth on motor is a little dented because of very strategic and very well thought out solutions for this loss-making accounts that we have been suffering from in motor. So, definitely, because of us exiting from many of these segments in motor, wherever we found the losses exceptionally harsh, we have -- growth has come down. And this will continue for some time. Maybe we are trying to -- I mean, work with the new dealers and other new partnerships. I think with that coming, we should be able to make up for this growth in the next couple of quarters. And at least it will show an upward trend is what we feel. And the composition as of now is 46% in private car, 47% in commercial vehicles and the rest in 2-wheelers. So basically, it is -- basically, this particular restructuring also, I think we will try to work towards a better composition on private car and more than the other two. So we are working towards a better composition on private car. And going forward, I think in a couple of quarters, we should be showing some positive growth and profitability and reduction in ICR at least on motor.

Just a follow-up on this. Can you tell us how this mix has -- on the private car, 2-wheeler CV, how this mix has evolved over the last couple of quarters or maybe last year, how we ended and where we are right now?

So, on the commercial vehicles, I think we had more on commercial vehicles earlier, and private car was definitely less than 47%. Now I think we have increased the share on private cars and commercial vehicles has come down slightly. The 2-wheelers has, by and large, remained where it was. So in commercial vehicle also, we have restricted our writing on those greater than 40,000 cc vehicles. And there, I feel because we have stayed away from those more risky segment, there also, there will be a turnaround that we'll see in the next few quarters.

Any kind of benefit which you have seen on your portfolio because of the GST rationalization over the last quarter on the motor side specifically?

Motor side, actually, the private car growth is there in the private car segment because of the GST rationalization. And I think that will continue. And of course, here, quarter-on-quarter, as we grow, we will see that growth in premium also because of that.

Okay. Now another question is on the wage cost. So in the notes to account the wage cost arrears, which is mentioned is around INR 1,500 crores impact for the nine months period. But the press release mentioned it is somewhere around INR 2,500-odd crores. So can you help us clarify that? And lastly, on the wage cost, you have mentioned that there is a family pension revision, which has happened up to 30% of the cost. So can you give us some number how this cost would be? And what kind of impact this number can have? Will it be this large like we have seen in the arrears.

Yes. Actually, the wage revision calculation is around INR 2,500 crores on the whole. For the revenue account, it's around INR 1,677 crores, which comes to the in-service employees and for the arrears that have to be paid to them from August '22. But the rest of it, that is around INR 642 crores is on account of arrears that are payable to our retired employees and that has been taken to the profit and loss account. So this is the breakup. And as far as the FPS is concerned, 30%, that has not yet been -- that is from the date the notification comes through. Therefore, it has not been included here. And that would be roughly around INR 700 crores, INR 800 crores. So that should complete the whole thing for us as far as wage revision is concerned.

Ma'am, anything on the arrears that is yet to be provided in our books or we have taken entire impact in this -- in the nine months period?

No, we'll have to provide for INR 700 crores, INR 800 crores. INR 700 crores or INR 800 crores around that amount for the FPS in the last quarter because it cannot be done before the notification comes out. Notification is yet to come out.

So only the FPS portion is pending provision because of the gazette notification.

Yes, that is prospective. That is why it's not being taken into account.

Okay. Now coming to your investment book, we are seeing significantly higher realization. You mentioned it was to offset the impact of the wage cost revision. So can you help us understand how much gains we have realized during the nine months and the current quarter? And how should we think about it going forward as well?

So the profit on sale that we have realized is around INR 4,236 crores. And of this, INR 2,000 crores is pertaining specifically to the wage revision provision. So the balances are the regular trading activity, buy and sell activities according to the turning of the portfolio.

Ma'am, how much of this was accounted for in the third quarter?

It is entirely accounted in the third quarter.

And what's this number for nine months period?

For the quarter, it is -- just a moment.

Sir, it is INR 2,000 crores -- around INR 2,000 crores from special activities.

No, I think he's asking what is the amount which is in this quarter, Q3.

It is around INR 1,080 crores in all total from [indiscernible]

Yes. INR 1,080 crores from profit on sale of equity in the third quarter. And overall, it is for up to the third quarter, it is INR 4,200 crores. Is that what...

And how should we think about it? Yes, ma'am this is what I was asking. How should we think about it, let's say, for FY '27? Because if we are able to provide that FPS again in the fourth quarter, let's say, so how should we think about our investment book? We'll maintain that INR 2,000-odd crores kind of run rate on the gain side?

Yes, sir. That would be the -- our normal sale activity would be around INR 700 crores to INR 800 crores in the quarter, plus the additional that is required to set off the wage revision provision, which will be known once the notification comes and when the provision is required to be made, we will be planning accordingly, depending on what is our income that we have already generated from all our entire portfolio up to that point of time.

Ma'am, one of your portfolio company wherein you have a significant holding has just gotten SEBI approval for IPO. Do we have a plan to participate in the IPO for that?

That is in the future. So we will look into it when it comes up.

Okay. Ma'am, lastly, on the taxation side, we have not seen anything provided for in terms of the income tax on your P&L for the nine months. So can you help us understand why is it so? And how should we think about it going forward?

No, this is because the advanced tax is being paid. And so because of that, we don't need to -- I mean we are paying adequately advanced taxes being paid, and that is why we are not providing for -- yes, plus the write-off that we have been doing on the bad debt as per our Board-approved policy, that has also given us some release and some cushioning because of which our tax has come down.

So, ma'am, for this financial year, should we assume a negligible tax rate for you?

Yes.

And what should be a long-term kind of a long-term tax rate going forward from FY '27 onwards?

It would be 17.472%. This is the MAT tax rate.

[Operator Instructions] The next question is from the line of [ Pawan Nand Lal Sachdev ] an individual investor.

My question is, which segment contributed most to the improvement in the bookout claim rate in this quarter? And it would be helpful if you quantify your [indiscernible]

What did you ask?

Which is the segment that...

Which segment contributed most to the improvement in the incurred claim ratio?

It's health segment.

Incurred claim ratio.

The health segment contributed immensely to the improvement because it forms around 48% of our book and the incurred claim ratio has come down by 2 percentage points up to nine months. And for the quarter, it has come down quite drastically from 103% to 91%.

Okay. And this 91% of our net incurred claim ratio, is it sustainable on a run rate basis from now on?

It is -- we are working towards a strategy where we are -- where the group GMC accounts are concerned, we are either pricing them and negotiating to get closer to the right price or we are exiting from GMCs that do not give us adequate pricing and going for accounts where pricing is more fair and more adequate. And apart from that, we have increased our fraud -- anti-fraud activities like we've increased inspections from 30% to 50% compulsorily, and we'll be increasing it even more in the quarters to come. We have got our own doctors. We are on the way of hiring new doctors. So this activity will go on intensifying. We are on threshold of buying a new software for fraud analysis. And already the vendor selection process is on. And as soon as I think in three to four months' time, we would be able to bring in the fraud monitoring software, which would make this entire activity even more automated. And I think, therefore, the sustenance of this model is going to definitely be there going forward.

Okay. Understood. And can you comment on run rate loss ratio in motor and health, excluding one-off and cat losses?

Motor -- on health, we are aiming towards -- we are aiming towards a loss ratio of around 98% to 100% overall. And for motor also, we are trying to bring the loss ratio to around 103%, 104%.

Just one last question from my side. How has market share trended across motor, health and non-motor segment in Q3? And where do you see the strongest competitive position?

We have done well on the market share side, wherein I think we have like fire, marine, everywhere, we are at 17%, 18% market share, including health and PA, which is a very big portfolio. And with the SAHI companies being there even then, we have managed around 16.4%, which is quite creditable. Going forward, we see a similar kind of market share across these segments. Maybe in the others, like in the miscellaneous side, we expect to see more market share in the miscellaneous side, SME and parametric and such other...

The next question is from the line of [ Tanya Kothari from AUM Capital Private Limited ].

Good afternoon to the management team. And thank you for the detailed presentations. I just have a couple of questions. The company has provided around INR 2,026 crores towards wage revision this quarter, including INR 824 crores for retired employees. Is this provision now fully reflective of the expected liability or investors should wait for further adjustments?

It is already provided for completely. Except for -- so, FPS is one thing which as we clarified, that is going to be taken care of in the last quarter, but all other things are already provided for till this Q3, it's already completely provided for. There's going to be no enhancement.

And my second question is management indicated focus on segment beyond motor and health due to competitive intensity. So which segment in fire, marine and engineering can deliver profitable growth? And what is your medium-term mix target?

Fire has always been a mainstay, and we've been leading this market in fire and we'll continue to do that. And fire is an area where we are definitely ahead of the market, and we'll continue to be there. Marine is an area where New India has traditionally been leading, especially in marine hull. We'll continue to do that. And only for this quarter, I think because of a couple of -- I mean, unusual losses, we've had this loss number. Otherwise, marine has also been performing quite well for us. As far as the health and PA, the risk selection, the fraud monitoring exercise that we have -- strategy that we have employed has paid off for us as we can see, and we'll continue on the same lines. And for the others where we have miscellaneous and other lines like parametric surety, we already are leading the market, and we'll continue to have this major presence in the market and continue to have a mainstay there.

Yes. Ma'am, despite the strong PAT growth, ROE remains modest at around 5%. What are the key levers management is focusing on to structurally improve ROE, whether it is underwriting discipline or expense control or capital efficiency?

So, basically, there are -- all of these parameters have contributed to this growth, yes, sectors. How actually we will elaborate on that.

Yes. Coming to ROE, right now, it is in the single digits. The focus is to bring it up to the double digits, and the primary lever will be to reduce the ICR. The results are quite sensitive to the swings in ICR with every percentage improvement creating quite a substantial improvement in the PAT. So the aim is to improve the ICR in order to increase the profitability and thereby increase ROE. So the first goal is to reach double-digit ROE.

Okay. Sir, the budget did not include major direct support for the general insurance sector, though it introduced a tax suspension on interest awarded in motor accidents. So do you view this change in the broader policy environment for general insurance in the budget, especially in terms of improving penetration, competitiveness or the pricing dynamics, sir?

Yes. So, basically, New India has declared this year as the year of SME. And we are totally committed to seeing that we are able to give support to the large population of SMEs, which form around INR 1.6 crores. And we want to see that we are absolutely in line with the government's intention to see that they are financially included. And the budget that has given now so many enablements for the MSME sector, so this opens up a lot of insurance opportunities for us where credit is concerned, where overall protection for the SME is concerned and also the expansion into Tier 3, Tier 2, Tier 3 cities. So, I think, all of this will contribute to New India expanding its book on MSME. And already, we are in -- we are actively engaging in awareness programs for MSMEs across the country. We are liaisoning with agencies like Dun & Bradstreet, [ Street ], ET NOW and such media agencies to ensure that we have these shows where we bring in a lot of awareness for MSMEs. The MSME book has also grown by 36% up to December '25. And we know that this is going to grow in the months to come.

The next question is from the line of [ Harsh Jain ] , an individual investor.

So I have a few questions. The first will be on the segment-wise performance. So can you throw some light on our segment-wise performance, especially on the other business? Because if you see, we have degrown by 26% on a quarter-on-quarter basis. So what exactly happened in this quarter where we declined 26% that much?

Crop insurance.

We have degrown by 26%. That is in the other segment. That is mainly because of crop insurance. Basically, we don't write crop on a direct basis in the market. We used to write crop as a reinsurer for agriculture insurance corporation. This year, because of some regulatory issues, agriculture insurance couldn't seed this business on a reinsurance basis. And therefore, there, we have degrown significantly because -- yes.

Yes. And just to put some numbers, our crop -- the others include both crop and the miscellaneous segment. Crop, the premium has come down from INR 180 crores last year same quarter to INR 5.7 crores -- whereas in the miscellaneous other segment, which is a focus area, the premium has gone up from INR 246 crores to INR 309 crores, which is an increase of close to 26%. So because the crop premium came down, overall basis, you are seeing this number of minus 26%. Otherwise, if you see within that, excluding crop, the business has grown by 26%.

Okay. So my next question would be on the -- if you exclude the wage revision impact, what would be the combined operating ratios look like for Q3 or for the nine -- for this year?

Yes. Without the impact of the wage revision, the COR would have been -- for the quarter would have been 110.13% as compared to 117.98%, which is including the wage revision for the quarter. And up to the quarter, with the wage revision, the COR was 124%. And without the wage revision provision, it would have been 117.6%.

Okay. And my last question is on the new business line, like you are entering into a new business line like for a parametric. So can you just give me some road map or what are your plans? And what are we are currently standing at some numbers, maybe some ballpark numbers, something?

Yes. So, basically, parametric insurance is a new type of insurance, which is -- which will take time to pick up in India because it is -- it's not exactly on the principles of insurance, like wherein there's a threshold fixed for a particular weather-related peril. And once the threshold is breached, then everything from ground up is paid. So whether the person suffers from a loss or not, it is paid. So this involves a lot of active collaboration with fintech companies, insurtech companies who understand weather-related perils, who understand the kind of portfolio that we're insuring and then they're able to fix up a threshold in a way that it's not everyday issue, it's not everyday loss. So basically, this is something that has slowly picked up. We have done some 10 or 12 contracts till now. And -- but I think in the days to come, this is being sought after, both from a penetration agenda because the government wants that penetration gets done faster and quicker. And parametric ensures that penetration can be done faster because you have to -- it is possible to issue policies for a large number of people at one go from a digital interface and also to settle claims in no time through the digital interface, wherein people get paid the claims in hours and minutes. So this is something wherein the claim reaches insured within a few hours of the catastrophe. Whereas the normal claim procedure takes a lot of time, a lot of processing and all of that. So this is something that eases the whole burden of claim processing. And therefore, this is going to be one of the very happening lines of businesses going forward. But as of now, since it is yet to develop, it is slow. [Technical Difficulty]

Ladies and gentlemen, the management line has been disconnected. Please hold while we get them reconnected. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being on hold. We have management connected now. Over to you, ma'am.

Yes. So, as I said that though the pickup is not very fast, but it is one of the most sought-after products. People wanting to know more and more about it, many people going for it also. And therefore, we see a very big traction for this in the coming year itself.

Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Girija Subramanian, CMD, New India Assurance Company Limited, for closing comments. Over to you, ma'am.

Thank you. Before we conclude, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all our stakeholders for joining us today and for your continued confidence in New India Assurance. Your support plays an important role in strengthening our results to uphold the highest standards of service, governance and operational excellence. I would also like to acknowledge the unwavering commitment of our employees across India and our overseas offices. Their dedication and professionalism continue to be the backbone of this institution, enabling us to serve millions of customers with consistency and care. Most importantly, we remain deeply grateful to our policyholders who have placed their trust in New India Assurance for over 106 years. Their confidence inspires us to continually improve, innovate and deliver on our promises with sincerity and accountability. As we move forward, the management team and I reaffirm our commitment to sustainable growth, prudent risk management and consistently enhancing our service standards. We will continue to work towards strengthening our operational capabilities, enhancing our digital initiatives and contributing meaningfully to the development of the insurance sector and the broader economy. Thank you once again for your time and participation. We look forward to your continued engagement.

Thank you very much, ma'am. On behalf of New India Insurance Company Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you all for joining us today, and you may now disconnect your lines.