LIC’s total new business premium rose just two per cent Rs 2.26 lakh crore in for FY25, which included Rs 62,404.58 crore from individual new business
New Delhi: Led by state owned Life Insurance Corporation(LIC), domestic life insurers recorded a marginal 5.1 per cent increase in new business premium collection to Rs 3.97 lakh crore during the financial year ended March 2025.
The industry had collected Rs 3.77 lakh crore in the preceding financial year, according to Life Insurance Council data released on Wednesday.
The individual new business premium, including individual single premium and individual non single premium, of the industry rose to Rs 1.66 lakh crore as compared to Rs 1.49 lakh crore a year ago, registering a growth of 11 per cent.
However, the number of policies sold by the Indian life insurers, fell by 7.39 per cent to 2,70.63 crore in Fy 25 as against 2,92.22 crore in FY 24.
LIC saw its total policies dropping by almost 13 per cent to 1,78 crore crore in FY 25 due to the introduction of new surrender value norms effective from October 1, 2024, from 2,04 crore in FY 24.
LIC’s total new business premium rose just two per cent Rs 2.26 lakh crore in for FY25, which included Rs 62,404.58 crore from individual new business.
Led by SBI Life, the private sector life insurance industry, consisting of 26 companies had grown their premium by almost 10 per cent to Rs 1,70.66 crore during the reporting period. Even,the number of policies they have sold have increased to 92,48 lakh in Fy25 from 87,92 lakh policies in Fy 24.
However, SBI Life itself has seen its premium slowing down by 7 per cent to Rs 35,576 crore during the reporting period. The number of policies it has sold also fallen marginally to 22,03.212 during Fy 25.
The corporation’s individual new business premium for FY25 registered a growth of 8.35 per cent, but its Group Premium fell 0.40 per cent to Rs1,64,265.34 crore in FY 25 from Rs 1,64,925.89 crore last year.
Looking at segment-specific performance in March 2025, LIC’s Individual premium segment saw a 10.75 per cent rise, totaling Rs 10,022 crore, up from Rs 9,048.87 crore in March 2024. Conversely, the Group premium fell by 1.34 per cent to Rs 26,885.33 crore from Rs 27,251.74 crore last year.
Premium growth has been tepid since the implementation of surrender value regulations in Oct’24, but it witnessed a slight recovery in Mar’25 after declining last month. We expect a gradual recovery in FY26 with private insurers expanding reach through geographical penetration, said a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The industry’s efforts to expand access to insurance have been complemented by significant addition of over 11,15,661 new individual life insurance agents in the fiscal year 2024-25, leading to a 7.88 per cent growth in the cumulative agent count.
The rapid pace of digitisation across the sector is further expected to drive insurance penetration, setting the stage for continued growth in new business premiums in FY25 and beyond, it said.
Overall, the Indian life insurance industry continues to make significant progress, reaching new milestones in premium collections and expanding its reach to previously underserved segments of the population, positioning itself for sustained future growth, it said.
Reuters