As LIC enters its eighth decade, it stands at the intersection of tradition and transformation. Armed with a robust digital infrastructure, a diversified product suite, unmatched financial might, a strong army of dedicated agents, distribution partners, employees and the unconditional love of millions of citizens. LIC of India is fully prepared to script an even more glorious chapter in the service of the nation.
R. Doraiswamy, CEO & MD, Life Insurance Corporation
The journey that began with a promise
On September 1, 1956, a new institution was born with a mission. A mission seemingly simple but of epic proportions: to take life insurance to every corner of India and provide financial protection at a reasonable cost.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was established under an Act of Parliament, bringing together 245 private life insurance companies and provident societies under one roof, with an initial capital contribution of just ₹5 crore from the Government of India
On September 1, 2026, LIC completes seventy years of glorious operations. Its story is not merely one of corporate growth. It is the story of millions of Indian families saving for the future, protecting themselves against uncertainty, and placing their faith in an institution that has remained a constant presence through seven decades of economic and social change.
As LIC marks this milestone, the first and most appropriate sentiment is one of gratitude — to its policyholders, agents, employees, shareholders and the Government of India, whose confidence and support have made this journey possible.
The anniversary is therefore not merely a corporate milestone, but a moment to look back at seven decades in which India’s economy changed, its society transformed, its aspirations multiplied and its financial landscape was repeatedly reshaped.The scale of the transformation is extraordinary.
Behind every number is a human story. Every policy represents a family that thought about tomorrow and every premium represents a saving made today for a future that cannot be predicted. Every claim represents a promise that had to be honoured when it mattered most and every agent represents a conversation in which someone persuaded another person to think beyond the present.
That is why LIC’s growth cannot be measured merely by its balance sheet. Its real scale is measured by the number of lives touched and dreams fulfilled to the millions of worthy policyholders. For the FY2026 Total premium income, stood at ₹5,35,984 crore (up 9.80 per cent), while profit after tax rose 19.25 per cent to a record ₹57,419 crore. The claims figures for the anniversary year are equally telling.
During FY2026,LIC processed 2.50 crore individual claims, including 2.41 crore maturity and survival benefit claims. Maturity claims amounting to ₹2.80 lakh crore and death claims of ₹24,885 crore were paid during the year, with the individual death-claim settlement ratio at 99.44 per cent. For LIC, claims settlement is not merely an operational statistic – it is the ultimate test of its social contract with policyholders.
Leadership that has survived competition
Perhaps LIC’s greatest achievement is not that it became large. It is that it remained a leader after the rules of the game changed.
For decades, LIC operated in an environment where it was the dominant national life insurer, but the liberalisation of India’s insurance sector in 2000 transformed the landscape.
Private insurers entered the market, customer choice expanded, technology accelerated, distribution models evolved products became increasingly sophisticated, and competition grew relentless.
LIC no longer had the luxury of standing still; it had to continuously reinvent itself and earn its leadership again, and again,and again.
For FY2025-26, LIC accounted for 56.66 per cent of India’s life insurance market by First Year Premium Income, and an extraordinary 70.11 per cent in group business; its market share by number of policies was 65.16 per cent.
Leadership in a protected market can be explained by regulation. Leadership for 26 years in a liberalised market has to be earned afresh every day.
As at March 31, 2026, LIC had 14.57 lakh individual agents. During FY2025-26 it sold 1.84 crore individual policies, 3.7 per cent more than in the previous year. Its agency force accounted for 98.42 per cent of policies sold and 91.75 per cent of individual new business premium – a distribution network that carries insurance to people rather than waiting for people to come looking for it.
The customer at the centre of transformation Future years cannot be built on the strengths of the past. LIC recognises that today’s customer expects speed, convenience, transparency and digital engagement. This is why the corporation’s digital transformation is significant: the launch of the MyLIC App in April 2026 puts an LIC office in the customer’s hands, offering policyholders digital access to their portfolio and servicing facilities, alongside the Super Sales Saathi App for marketing intermediaries.
LIC has also been steadily modernising its product portfolio. It now has a suite of 52 products and 8 riders, including recent launches such as Bima Lakshmi (a plan exclusive to women), Protection Plus (a ULIP), Bima Kavach (a term plan), Jeevan Utsav (a single-premium plan) and, most recently, New Jeevan Sathi (a joint-life plan). This reflects India’s changing insurance needs – young families requiring protection, young and old requiring annuities, workers requiring flexible insurance products, entrepreneurs requiring risk cover, and millions of first-time customers requiring simple, affordable products.
Bima Sakhi: Insurance as Empowerment
LIC’s purpose is better illustrated by Bima Sakhi, a Mahila Career Agent scheme that seeks to create employment and financial independence for women while taking insurance deeper into rural India. As at March 31, 2026, the number of active Bima Sakhis was 2,83,249; during FY2025-26 they completed 21.94 lakh policies with First Year Premium Income of ₹3,769 crore. LIC has now covered 59 per cent of India’s Gram Panchayats with at least one Bima Sakhi.
This is more than a distribution initiative – it is a development model in which the spread of insurance and the creation of livelihoods reinforce each other. LIC also continues to play an important role in government- backed insurance programmes: as at March 31, 2026, it covered 3.70 crore lives under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.
Rewarding shareholders, strengthening the institution
LIC’s evolution into a listed corporation has added a further dimension to its accountability. Since its 2022 listing, it has consistently paid dividends; for FY2025-26, the Board recommended a final dividend of ₹10 per equity share of ₹10 face value – equivalent to ₹20 per share on a pre-bonus basis.
The 1:1 bonus issue approved in 2026 effectively doubles LIC’s outstanding equity shares, intended to improve liquidity and reward shareholders for their continued confidence in the Corporation.
In August 2026, the Government’s Offer for Sale of a 6.5 per cent stake in LIC drew exceptionally strong investor demand, raising ₹31,552 crore and taking LIC’s public shareholding to 10 per cent – the largest OFS recorded in the Indian market. That success reflects continuing confidence, from India’s capital markets.
The road ahead: opportunities and challenges
Seventy years of leadership do not remove the challenges that lie ahead. Customers today have more choices than ever before, and technology has reshaped expectations; younger customers, in particular, expect insurance to be simple, personalised and available instantly. These changing factors have been identified and LIC is striving to adapt.
Broadly the following areas are in focus:
● Product mix: LIC is focusing on enhancing the product portfolio with a clear focus on providing the right products to meet the emerging needs of the customers, increasing the contribution of guaranteed benefit products, filling the gaps
● Technology and persistency: sustaining policy renewals (persistency) and building digital self-service, through platforms such as the MyLIC App, remain works in progress rather than finished journeys. Increased focus on the Digital Transformation of the Corporation.
● Distribution Mix: Strengthening the Agency organisation with digital tools and training to increase their productivity, while improving the contribution from the other distribution channels to improve the New Business performance to a greater level.
● Asset Management: Improved Asset Management capabilities, to get the better yield on the funds, in order to provide competitive returns to the policyholders under increased economic volatility.
● Expectations of a listed company: as a listed entity, LIC is now working to balance its historic social mandate – reaching underserved and rural India – with the return expectations of public shareholders India remains underinsured, and the country’s economic expansion, rising household incomes,growing financial awareness and increasing longevity will create enormous demand for protection, savings and retirement solutions in the years ahead. Meeting that demand, while adapting its distribution and product mix to a more competitive and digital market, will define LIC’s next chapter.
The measure that cannot be counted the institution that began in 1956 with ₹5 crore of capital has become a financial giant. But its greatest asset cannot be measured in rupees. It is trust.
For seventy years, generations of Indians have placed their savings, hopes and family security in LIC. That trust was earned by the institution, but it was also built by its customers, sustained by its employees and agents, and backed, throughout, by the Government of India.
The most appropriate way for LIC to mark its 70th anniversary is therefore not simply to look back at what it has achieved,but to thank those who made it possible – and to renew the promise that the Corporation will continue to be in the forefront when India needs it most.
As LIC enters its eighth decade, it stands at the intersection of tradition and transformation. Armed with a robust digital infrastructure, a diversified product suite, unmatched financial might, a strong army of dedicated agents, distribution partners, employees and the unconditional love of millions of citizens.
LIC of India is fully prepared to script an even more glorious chapter in the service of the nation.