Life insurance premiums in November slip 4.5% to Rs 25,306.56 crore

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The new business premiums (NBP) of life insurance companies in November 2024 slipped by 4.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 25,306.56 crore, tracking a drop in the business of the giant—Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)—even as growth in premiums of private sector life insurance companies cushioned the fall.

 

According to data published by the Life Insurance Council, LIC’s premiums dropped 27.17 per cent YoY to Rs 11,751.11 crore, while private insurers reported a 30.84 per cent YoY growth in NBP to Rs 13,555.45 crore as the industry absorbs the impact of the revised surrender value norms.

 

Starting October 1, the revised surrender value norms came into effect, mandating life insurers to pay an enhanced special surrender value (SSV) to policyholders after the completion of the first policy year, provided the customer has paid one full-year premium. Previously, companies were not required to pay such amounts to customers surrendering their policies in the first year.

 

According to a Nuvama report, private sector growth picked up in November 2024 as the industry adapted to the changes in surrender value regulations.

 

LIC’s individual premium segment saw a 5.66 per cent YoY drop to Rs 4,021.87 crore, while group premiums dropped sharply by 35.37 per cent to Rs 7,607.72 crore. However, the group yearly premium collections grew by 21.97 per cent to Rs 121.52 crore, as per the data.

 

Meanwhile, the largest private life insurer—SBI Life Insurance—reported an 8.12 per cent YoY growth in premiums to Rs 2,575.18 crore, while HDFC Life posted a 13.06 per cent YoY growth to Rs 2,441.7 crore. ICICI Prudential Life’s premiums more than doubled in the month to Rs 3,221.56 crore.

 

Other major players, including Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance and Max Life Insurance, posted a 10.7 per cent YoY decline and a 20.9 per cent YoY growth, respectively.

 

In the April–November period, NBP of the life insurance industry improved by 15.7 per cent YoY to Rs 2.44 trillion. LIC recorded a 16.08 per cent YoY growth to Rs 1.44 trillion during this period, while private life insurers posted a 15.09 per cent YoY growth to Rs 1 trillion.

 

The number of policies sold by insurers in November 2024 stood at 14.86 lakh, nearly 27 per cent lower than the year-ago period. In the April–October period, policy sales saw a 1.2 per cent YoY uptick to 1.60 crore compared to last year.