Mumbai:
Amidst nationwide lockdown due to the spread of Caronavirus Pandemic, the domestic life insurance industry led by the state owned Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) has degrown by 33 per cent year on year(Y-O-Y) to Rs 6727 crore in its new premium income during the month of April, the first month of FY 2020-21.
However, with total restriction on the physical movement, the industry has managed to sell only 4,16,203, policies, down 67 per cent y-o-y, purely on-line, in the month of April.
The LIC has seen its total premium income falling by 32 per cent y-o-y-to Rs 3582 crore in the month of April FY 2020-21.The corporation has seen its number of policies plunging by 80 per cent y-o-y to 1,84,646 policies during the month.The life insurnace behemoth, at Rs 1984 crore, has mopped up its largest mount of premium from group single premium portfolio though the segment has shrunk by 24 per cent in April.
Together the private sector life insurers, consisting of 23 companies, have recorded a decline of 33 per cent y-o-y to Rs 3,146 crore in their new premium income in the month of April.
However, these companies by making use of their on-line platforms have managed to sell 2,31,554 policies during the month, which is 34 per cent y-o-y less than the corresponding period of Fy 2019-20.
SBI Life, with a new premium income of Rs 917 crore, has moblised the largest premium amount among the private sector life insurers in the month of April.
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Also along with SBI Life,a few other private secor life insurers including Baja Alianz Life,Tata AIA Life, Aditya Birla Life and Aviva Life,Edelweiss Tokio Life have seen positive growth in their new premium income despite lockdown continuing in the month of April.
In new business premium,SBI Life outshone HDFC Life to occupy the number one position in the private space in the reporting period. HDFC Life’s market share declined and stood second. I-Pru lost its third position to Bajaj Allianz Life in the month of April, said a BFSI analysis by Anand Rathi Group.
According to an analysis by Kotak Institutional Equities,“Private life insurance players reported 40 per cent yoy decline in individual annual premium equivalent (APE) in April 2020 despite the lockdown during the entire month,which is better than our expectations of about 90-95 per cent decline. Demand for protection policies and spillover from year-end pipeline were the likely drivers.’’
Subdued capital markets acted as a dampener reflected in the inflows to equity-oriented mutual funds which were muted at Rs4400 crore in April 2020 as compared to Rs9600crore/month in the previous two months, said the analysis.
The LIC and private insurers have been engaged in a seesaw battle for market share. In new business premium , private insurers increased market share from Dec’19 to Feb’20 before declining in Mar’20, then sharply bouncing back in Apr’20.
In APE,private insurers’ market share was steady in Feb’20 and Mar’20 but slipped in Apr’20. At end-Apr’20, LIC’s APE market-share was 54% while in overall new business premium it is 53 per cent in April, said Anand Rathi's BFSI analysis.