LIC's first-year premium up 33.8% to Rs 70,891 cr

Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC) today said its first-year premium rose 33.87 per cent to Rs 70,891 crore in 2009-10 helping it garner a market share of 64.86 per cent.

The insurance major had posted a first-year premium of Rs 52,954 crore in the previous fiscal and then had a market share from 60.79 per cent, LIC Chairman T S Vijayan told reporters here today.

The company's total Assets Under Management (AUM) increased 31.88 per cent to Rs 11,52,057 crore in the period.

The premium income of the corporation rose 18.32 per cent to Rs 1,85,985 crore from Rs 1,57,186 crore recorded last fiscal, while the total income went up to Rs 2,98,721 crore, a 49.15 per cent increase from FY09, Vijayan said.

"This is the first-year our premium has crossed the four-figure mark and we are happy with the performance," Vijayan said, adding that LIC also displayed good numbers in the first quarter of FY 11.

The first premium collection more than doubled to Rs 18,740 crore vis-à-vis last year and LIC's market share also inched up to 73.43 per cent in Q1 of FY11, he said.

Vijayan said that the overall expense ratio of the Corporation during FY10 was 13.10 per cent as compared to last year's 12.92 per cent, which is "within prescribed limits" and lowest in the highly competitive life insurance space.