ICICI Lombard General Insurance has rebalanced its motor insurance portfolio in the first quarter of 2023-24, lowering the share of commercial vehicles in gross direct premium income (GDPI), amid tepid growth and no hike in third-party rates.

Motor GDPI for the general insurer was at Rs 1,875 crore during Q1FY24 compared with Rs 1,782 crore in Q1FY23, a growth of 5.3 per cent.

While the share of private cars and two-wheelers in motor GDPI has increased to 48.7 per cent and 30.3 per cent (from 47.7 per cent and 27.7 per cent in Q1FY23), respectively, the share of commercial vehicles has decreased to 21 per cent in Q1FY24 (from 24.6 per cent in Q1FY23).

“With no motor TP price hike, we have rebalanced our portfolio, resulting in our commercial vehicle mix at 21 per cent and two-wheeler mix at 30.3 per cent for Q1FY2024,” said Bhargav Dasgupta, managing director and CEO, at the quarterly earnings call.

“According to data published by Siam, new vehicle sales continued to grow year-on-year for private cars and two-wheelers. However, the growth narrowed in June 2023.

“The growth in sales of commercial vehicles was at double digit during the quarter. Two-wheeler sales for the quarter, in terms of volume, remain below the pre-pandemic levels,” said Dasgupta.

The company’s overall GDPI during the quarter at Rs 6,387 crore was up 18.9 per cent while profit after tax was at Rs 390 crore, with a year-on-year growth of 11.8 per cent.

“Management continues to see the health segment and commercial lines to be key growth drivers going ahead,” Emkay Global said in a research note on Wednesday.