MUMBAI: Life insurance industry posted an 18% year-on-year fall in new business premiums to Rs 26,789 crore in August, according to data released by the Life Insurance Council on Thursday.
The industry performance was impacted by a disappointing monthly performance by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) as it reported the steepest fall in premium.
The new business premium of the country’s largest insurer declined nearly 35%. However, its annualised premium equivalent (APE) increased marginally by 3% in August. Reacting to monthly performance, shares of LIC fell 2% during the session and settled 0.29% lower at Rs 676 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Private insurers managed to post a positive performance during the month. The new business premium of private insurers grew 14% to Rs 12,496 crore in August. Private insurer HDFC Life Insurance reported nearly 25% in its new business premium while its APE grew by 16% during the month. SBI Life Insurance posted a nearly 16% increase in its new business premium and its annualised premium equivalent surged by 34%. ICICI Prudential experienced a decrease in new business premiums by 5.4%, however, its APE increased by 12.3%.
Max Life Insurance reported a growth of 35.6% in new business premiums in August. The non-life insurers also witnessed a fall in their revenues in August. The gross premium underwritten by non-life insurers fell 3.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 23,558 crore in August, according to data released by the General Insurance Council. The monthly performance was impacted mainly due to a 68% decline in the specialised state-run non-life insurers’ revenue.
The revenue of general insurers, which offer insurance for home, travel, motor, health, fire, and other natural or manmade calamities, increased 13 % over the preceding year to Rs 19,291 crore in August.
Among general insurers, private insurers outperformed the public sector, with their revenue growing 16% over last August. The revenue of public-sector insurers increased 7% year-on-year.