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The new business premium (NBP) of life insurance companies dropped 21.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 30,218.71 crore in December 2024 on the back of a steep fall in business.
According to data published by the Life Insurance Council, LIC’s premium dropped 41.15 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 13,523.87 crore while private insurers reported 7 per cent growth in NBP to Rs 16,694.85 crore as the industry absorbs the impact of the revised surrender value norms.
The fall in LIC’s premium was due to a significant decline in its group single premium which halved to Rs 8,191.29 crore in December from Rs 17,601.97 crore last year. Individual non-single premium dropped to Rs 2,628.74 crore from Rs 3,111.33 crore.
“The steep fall in LIC’s group single premiums is largely due to a significant spike. Although it seems like a dramatic fall, compared to two years ago, this is normalization, showing slight growth over the years,” said Saurabh Bhalerao, Associate Director, BFSI Research, CareEdge Ratings.
The largest private life insurer - SBI Life Insurance’s - premium grew by 15.2 per cent to Rs 5,307.98 crore, while HDFC Life posted a 4.55 per cent Y-o-Y drop to Rs 2,713.49 crore. ICICI Prudential Life’s premium inched up to Rs 3,221.56 crore. Other major players like - Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance posted 9.7 per cent growth while Axis Max Life Insurance clocked 13.1 per cent drop, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the third quarter of FY25 (Q3FY25), the premium dropped by 6.55 per cent to Rs 85,872.87 crore. LIC’s premium dropped by 22.56 per cent to Rs 42,406.07 crore, while private insurers’ recorded 17.05 per cent growth to Rs 43,466.81 crore.
In the April-December period, NBP of the life insurance industry improved by 9.9 per cent YoY to Rs 2.75 trillion, where LIC recorded 7.16 per cent YoY to Rs 1.58 trillion. On the other hand, private life insurers posted 13.86 per cent Y-o-Y growth to Rs 1.17 trillion.
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 "The customer-centric revision in surrender value norms will strengthen the bottom line of life insurers and boost penetration in the country, industry officials said. The revised surrender value norms came into effect from October 1, 2024.")
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 "The insurance sector is at a critical juncture. Despite impressive growth in premium income – from Rs 1 trillion in FY05 to more than Rs 6.7 trillion in FY24 – the sector has yet to fully realise its potential in terms of broader penetration and impr")
