Life insurance sector grew 58% in April, as private players kicked-off FY07 by increasing their market share to over 32%.The 15 life insurers collected Rs 1,996 crore in the first month of this fiscal compared to Rs 1,260 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal, according to data compiled by regulator IRDA.LIC collected Rs 1,355 crore in first year premium in April after it sold 6.4 lakh policies as against Rs 1,023 crore mopped up in the year-ago period, a growth of 32%.But, LIC's marketshare came down drastically to 67.88% in April from 81% in the same month last fiscal, signalling fierce competition amongst the PSU insurance behemoth and private players, in the coming days.The 14-private insurers increased their premium incomes by a whopping 170%, collecting Rs 641 crore and a marketshare of 32.12%. ICICI Prudential led the ranks of private players by doubling its premium income to Rs 147 crore, followed by Bajaj Allianz, whose premium income grew 400% with a collection of Rs 146 crore.
