New India Assurance Company receives ₹250 crore tax refund for AY 2009-10

State-owned New India Assurance Company Limited on Wednesday (September 24) said it has received a refund of ₹249.79 crore from the Income Tax Department for Assessment Year 2009-10. The refund amount includes interest of ₹8.89 crore, the company informed.

In May this year, New India Assurance said it is aiming for a double-digit growth in premium in 2025–26 (FY26), with a strong focus on improving underwriting quality and reducing the combined ratio. The company's combined ratio improved to 117% in FY25 from 120% in FY24, and the loss ratio slightly improved to 96.61% from 97.36%.

Chairman and Managing Director Girija Subramanian said the company is building on the momentum seen in the second half of FY25 and has already set targets across business

lines to stay on course.

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In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Subramanian also addressed speculation around a possible merger of state-owned general insurers, saying there is no formal proposal yet. She acknowledged that such a move, if it happens, would depend heavily on the timing and financial health of the other public sector companies involved.

New India Assurance posted a gross written premium of ₹43,618 crore in FY25, a 3.86% increase from ₹41,996 crore in FY24. Despite the growth in premium and operational improvements, net profit fell nearly 13% to ₹2,988 crore in FY25, primarily due to provisions made towards legacy non-moving balances.

Shares of New India Assurance Company Ltd ended at ₹195.50, down by ₹0.65, or 0.33%, on the BSE.

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