New business of LIC for December was down more than 41% at ₹13,523.87 crore (₹22,981.28 crore), while for the nine months it was 7.16% higher at ₹1,57,955.95 crore (₹1,47,405.59 crore). File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
New business of life insurers declined almost 22% year on year in December to ₹30,218.71 crore on the back of tight liquidity conditions, the economy projected to grow slower and the GST Council postponing a crucial decision on a widely expected slash in the levy on the premium.
In December 2023, the insurers had reported ₹38,583.13 crore first year premium. The latest numbers follow the November performance when for the first month this fiscal the insurers premium dipped, by nearly 4.5% to ₹25,306.56 crore. One of the contributing factors attributed to the downward trend is the new surrender value norm that came into effect from October.
For the nine months, ended December, the new business increased almost 10% to ₹2,75,086.92 crore (₹2,50,273.75 crore), the business numbers released by the Life Insurance Council showed.
In December, private players fared better than the State-owned, market leader Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) clocking a 7% increase in the new business to Rs.16,694.85 crore (₹15,601.85 crore). For the nine months, the first year premium of the private life insurers rose nearly 14% to ₹1,17,130.96 crore (₹1,0,2868.16 crore).
New business of LIC for December was down more than 41% at ₹13,523.87 crore (₹22,981.28 crore), while for the nine months it was 7.16% higher at ₹1,57,955.95 crore (₹1,47,405.59 crore).
The growth moderation for life insurers was not unexpected. Emkay Research recently said for listed private life insurers a host of player-specific issues including discontinuation of some products after the new surrender regulation, slowdown in banca channel and increased competition in some key channels were likely to impacting factors.
Published – January 11, 2025 03:34 pm IST