Life insurers mop up Rs 27,034 crore as new business collections

New business premiums expanded from Rs 23,448 crore in May 2023 to Rs 27,034 crore in May 2024, with year till date (YTD) collections growing even more from Rs 36,043 crore to Rs 47,293 crore this year. Driven by a strong demand for enhanced insurance protection from individual consumers, new policy issuances too increased by 12.45 per cent on a Y-o-Y basis in May this year, resulting in the addition of new 18,68,096 policies as against 16,61,324 policies in the year ago period, it said.

According to data released by the council, the life insurance industry saw individual single premiums growing by 18.3 per cent on a Y-o-Y basis to close at Rs 3,351 crore for May while YTD growth stood at 21.49 per cent. Individual non-single premiums came in at Rs 6,916 crore and grew by 18.7 per cent in May, even as YTD collections settled at 20.14 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year.

“This strong performance can be ascribed to the fact that life insurers are increasingly focusing on encouraging first-time life insurance buyers to buy essential life insurance solutions, contributing to the 18.58 per cent growth in combined individual premium collections for the month of May 2024 and 20.6 per cent growth on a YTD basis,” the council said.

In the group policy segment, single premiums grew by 16.7 per cent with monthly collections coming in at Rs 15,976 crore. In fact, the group policy category witnessed a 13.15 per cent growth in premiums collected in May while new policy issuances expanded by 21.15 per cent on a Y-o-Y basis.

LIC, the largest insurer, said it achieved growth across all its premium categories, showcasing the company’s robust performance and resilience. The total premium for May 2024 amounted to Rs 16,690 crore, an 18.74 per cent increase from Rs 14,056.29 crore collected in May 2023, LIC said.

For May 2024, the individual premium was Rs 4,058 crore, up from Rs 3,607 crore in May 2023. Group premium rose to Rs 12,569 crore from Rs 10,431 crore in the same month the previous year. Group yearly premium reached Rs 63.01 crore, compared to Rs 17.21 crore in May 2023, LIC said.