Lic Premium Mop Up At 35% During This Fiscal

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has mopped up 35 per cent of its premium collection target in the first seven-and-a-half months of the current fiscal, against 34 per cent achieved last year.

In terms of number of policies, LIC has managed around 35 per cent of the targeted number against 41 per cent in the previous year, this has translated into 33 per cent of the total targeted sum assured on an all India basis.

The decline in number of new policies this year was on account of the overall industrial slow down and a sluggish consumer demand, said LIC sources.

 

Officials said the last quarter was traditionally the period when around 55 per cent to 60 per cent of the target was achieved, but admitted that indications were LIC would fall short of its target. The number of policies written till date stands at 8.2 million against 8.1 million last year - a small 0.5 per cent rise.

New policies written this year till November contributed premium to the tune of Rs 56984.48 crore against Rs 45893 crore in the same period of the last fiscal. Since its inception, LIC has mopped up Rs 2,06,560 crore as premium collection against all policies issues. Till last year, the cumulative figure was Rs 1,44,287 crore.

The company has also entered into talks with gramin and cooperative banks for marketing its products once the corporate agency norms were passed by the Parliament. In the eastern part of the country, officials have entered into talks will all local cooperative as well as gramin banks for a possible tie-up. Although the possibility of cooperative banks being allowed to market insurance policy by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was small, LIC sources said a substantial rise in premium collection was expected once the tie-ups went through.

Globally, the life business has suffered in temrs of volume after the September 11 attacks. Insecurity was expected to have a positive impact on the number of policies written, but in reality, the impact has been adverse in the global as well as the domestic economy. The overall economic slowdown had cast its shadow on the life and general sectors in terms of new policies written and premium collection.