 "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.")
Non-life insurers reported a marginal decline in premia in December, owing to a revision in premium accounting norms by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai). Premia of non-life insurers in December slipped 0.33 per cent year–on–year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 25,018 crore, showed data released by the General Insurance Council.
General insurers clocked 1.6 per cent Y-o-Y drop in premia to Rs 20,677.79 crore. Among private insurers, ICICI Lombard General Insurance’s premium slipped 0.89 per cent Y-o-Y while Bajaj Allianz General Insurance reported a 6.6 per cent Y-o-Y drop. HDFC Ergo General Insurance’s premia dropped 43.3 per cent during this period.
Meanwhile, state-owned New India Assurance reported a 6.52 per cent Y-o-Y increase in premia. United India Insurance posted an 8.46 per cent drop than the same month in 2023, while National Insurance reported a 16.2 per cent Y-o-Y growth, and Oriental Insurance’s premia rose 12.4 per cent during the month.
Overall growth in premiums for state-owned general insurers came in at 6 per cent Y-o-Y in December. However, private sector insurers reported a 6.6 per cent decline in premiums during the period. BS Reporter
Premiums of the standalone health insurance companies (SAHIs) rose by 5.19 per cent YoY in December.
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 "Health insurance customers will face higher premiums as insurers implement hikes. HDFC Ergo General Insurance has recently raised premiums for its flagship product, Optima Secure. New India Assurance has also announced upcoming hikes across all its p")
 "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")
For the month under review, some companies have reported original figures as before, while others have adopted the new Irdai format for premium reporting. As a result, the numbers are not directly comparable.
“For multi-line insurers, change in premium accounting norms has led to a YoY drop in premiums. This combined with the weak growth in motor sales during the 3-month period has led to a drop in growth of premiums in the quarter,” said Saurabh Bhalerao, Associate Director, BFSI Research, CareEdge Ratings.
Further, Nuvama in a report, said, industry growth seems subdued due to the impact of a change in accounting policy of long-term health premiums as well as strong motor sales in the base period.
Irdai has revised the format of reporting premium figures. The regulator has asked long-term premiums to be reported on the basis of 1/N where N is the number of days of the policy. The norms came into effect from October 1, 2024.
In October – December (Q3FY25), the non-life insurance companies rose by a meagre 1 per cent YoY to Rs 76,236.7 crore, supported by growth in standalone health and multi-line insurers. However, changes in premium accounting norms effective from October 1, 2024 have affected the growth from the year ago period.
 "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")
 "Business correspondents meet Irdai, seek consent to sell insurance products")
 "Life insurance firms adjust term premiums by 5-10% ahead of FY25 end")
