India's Non-life insurance biz outlook revised to negative: S&P

New Delhi: Global rating agency Standard & Poor's on Thursday revised business outlook of India's non-life insurers from stable to negative, as underwriting business is expected to decline.

"The negative outlook on India reflects our view that underwriting performances are likely to stay very weak this year despite strong growth potential for premiums," S&P said in its report titled 'Asia-Pacific Nonlife Insurance'.

At present, there are 24 non-life insurance companies in India. Of them, the four government-controlled entities command a market share of about 60 per cent.

"We believe underwriting performances (in India) are unlikely to significantly improve in the next 12 months, despite signs that prices are stabilising," S&P said.

It said the industry was maintaining its profitability through investment income, and cautioned against likely shocks due to vulnerability in investment market. S&P conducted comprehensive review of 12 non-life insurance markets-- Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan...