Premium collection in January was down by 14.5 per cent
On the back of a surge from the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the first-year premium collection by life insurance companies increased by 23.8 per cent to Rs 1,03,878 crore in the April-February period of the current financial year.
In this period, LIC collected Rs 73,122 crore by selling new policies, up 34.6 per cent compared to Rs 54,320 crore collected in the corresponding period last year.
During April-February 2009-10, the total first-year premium collected by the industry was Rs 83,891 crore.
According to data collected by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), during the first 11 months of this financial year, private insurers posted a marginal four per cent rise in premium collection to Rs 30,756 crore, compared to Rs 29,571 crore in the corresponding period last year.
| CONTRAST First year premium collection (Rs Crore) | |||
| Life insurance companies | April-February | Growth (%) | |
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | ||
| Private | 29,571 | 30,756 | 4.0 |
| LIC | 54,320 | 73,122 | 34.6 |
| Total | 83,891 | 1,03,878 | 23.8 |
| Source: Irda | |||
The industry recorded seven per cent growth in premium collection on a month-on-month basis in February to Rs 8,344 crore, compared to Rs 8,301 crore collected in January 2011.
Industry sales took a hit after new norms were introduced in September and most of the growth in terms of premium income happened in the first six months of 2010-11.
The premium collection in January was down by 14.5 per cent, compared to Rs 9,709 crore in December. The new business income in November 2010 was Rs 7,282 crore.
In February, LIC’s new premium collection was up by 12.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis, whereas for its private peers the collection dipped by five per cent.
SBI Life, the largest private life insurer in terms of new business premium income, collected premiums worth Rs 5,845 crore during the first 11 months of 2010-11, up by 1.9 per cent compared to Rs 5,267 crore collected in the corresponding period a year earlier.
