While private insurers lag, state-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has significantly widened its share of the insurance market in India and now corners 73.87 per cent of the industry. While ICICI’s market share slid 1.2 per cent and HDFC Life’s share was down 0.5 per cent.
In terms of premium growth, LIC witnessed more than twofold rise in its new premium collection to Rs 26,030.16 crore in June 2019 from Rs 11,167.82 crore in the same period last year, according to data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irdai). LIC sold 13.32 lakh policies to collect over Rs 25,000 crore in just one month.
Besides LIC, there are 23 private players operating in the sector, who shares a combined 26 per cent share of the market pie. The insurance regulator noted that the collective new premium income of the life insurers jumped 94 per cent to Rs 32,241.33 crore in June 2019. All these 24 life insurers had reported new gross premium of Rs 16,611.57 in the same month a year ago.
Meanwhile, private sector players witnessed an increase of 14.10 per cent in their collective new year business premium at Rs 6,211.17 crore in June, as compared to Rs 5,443.75 crore collected in the same month last year. HDFC Life’s new premium rose by 21 per cent year-on-year at Rs 1,358.45 crore; SBI Life’s up 28.14 per cent at Rs 1,310.07 crore; ICICI Prudential Life’s up 26 per cent at Rs 897.98 crore; Bajaj Allianz’s up 51 per cent at Rs 468.51 crore and Tata AIA Life posted 90.26 per cent rise to Rs 258.95 crore in June.
However, India First Life business premium fell 54 per cent to Rs 119.31 crore; DHFL Pramerica Life by 65 per cent to Rs 48.87 crore; Aditya Birla Sun Life by 40 per cent to Rs 212.46 crore; and Reliance Nippon Life by 6.84 per cent to Rs 66.81 crore.
Cumulatively, the new premium generated by all the 24 life insurers during April-June period of this fiscal rose by 65 per cent to Rs 60,637.22 crore. During the April-June quarter, LIC’s new premium income increased by 82 per cent to Rs 44,794.78 crore, while other private sector players’ collective cumulative fresh premium rose by 32 per cent to Rs 15,842.44 crore on year.