LIC's new premium falls 24%

The life insurance industry’s first-year premium income during April-July 2008 grew by a mere 1.6 per cent largely on account of a drop in new sales by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s largest in the category. LIC witnessed a 23.88 per cent drop in the sales at Rs 10,797.1 crore during the period as against new sales of Rs 14,186.04 crore in the corresponding period last financial year.

Overall, the life insurance industry earned a new business premium of Rs 20,178.02 crore as compared with Rs 19,856.35 crore last year.

The 19 private players continued to witness robust growth with a 65 per cent rise in first-year premium of Rs 9,380.92 crore during the four-month period as against Rs 5,670.31 crore in 2007-08. LIC’s market share declined to 53.51 per cent while the private insurers consolidated their market share to 46.49 per cent.
 

First-year premium income
Rs crore Insurer	April-July

 

Per cent
growth

2007

2008

LIC1418610797

-23.8

ICICI Prudential1509219245.3 SBI Life6011458142.5 Bajaj Allianz1076119811.3 Reliance Life332838152.0

SBI Life continued to hold the second position with a new business income of Rs 1,457.64 crore from Rs 600.87 crore in the previous year, a growth of 142.5 per cent. Bajaj Allianz slipped to the third slot followed by Reliance Life, Birla Sun Life, HDFC Standard Life, which dipped to the sixth position from the third place last year.