Pure-play protection plans second fiddle to savings plan for life insurers

Growth in recent times is led by savings products, poised to give better returns that bank FDs

Stocks of listed life insurance companies have been relative underperformers on a year-to-date basis even as monthly premium inflows are firming up in the recent months. A closer look at the numbers suggests that investors may not be pleased with much growth coming from savings-led products rather than pure-play life insurance plans.

With bank fixed deposit (FD) rates at rock bottom, life insurers appear to be front-ending savings, guaranteed return and annuity products to customers which not offer higher yield compared to FDs (minimum of six per cent as against a taxable average FD rate of 6.5 per cent) but