Mumbai, Apr 27 (IANS): Private non-life insurer Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd closed last fiscal with a total gross written premium of Rs 4,007 crore, the company said on Thursday.

In a statement issued here Reliance General, a subsidiary of Reliance Capital Ltd said the company closed the year 2016-17 with a total gross written premium of Rs 4,007 crore logging a growth of 40 per cent over previous year figure.

According to Reliance General, the profit before tax last year was Rs 130 crore -- a growth of 32 per cent after additional provisioning for Incurred But Not Reported (IBNR) reserves, which now stands fully strengthened.

Before the additional provisioning as proposed by an external panel acturay for IBNR, the before tax profit was Rs 302 crore

Return on Equity (RoE) improved from nine per cent to 11 per cent during the same period.

The company said its investment book logged 25 per cent growth last fiscal and stood at Rs 6,724 crore at the end of the year.

According to the statement, Reliance General has insured over three million farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

While the company has 24,500 agents, its online channel registered a premium growth of 55 per cent and 66 per cent in number of policies sold during the period under review.

Reliance General Insurance currently has a 7.3 per cent market share in private sector.

Last year the company strengthened and diversified its distribution network by forging partnerships with major banks including IndusInd Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, Andhra Bank and Bank of India.