The life insurance premium collection increased by around 10 per cent over the year as of December 2024; however, the net business premium for the month fell 22.7 per cent compared to December 2023
Data released last week by the Life Insurance Council shows that the overall growth in life insurance premium collection, which reached 9.91 per cent for the year ending in December 2024, totalling Rs 2,75,086.92 crore. However, the monthly net business premium (NBP) fell by 21.7 per cent in December 2024, amounting to Rs 30,218.71 crore, down from Rs 38,583.13 crore in December 2023.
The number of policies issued monthly also experienced a decline, decreasing by 19.85 per cent to 2.12 million in December 2024 from 2.65 million in December 2023. The highest decline was in the individual non-single policies, which fell by 21 per cent.
While the individual single premium rose 13.52 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 4,633.12 crore for December 2024, individual non-single premium grew only 4.53 per cent to Rs 12,467.51 crore. Both group single and non-single premiums, however, saw a decrease.
This downturn may be attributed to life insurers focusing on first-time buyers of life insurance policies, resulting in a collective increase of 6.82 per cent in individual premiums segment, including both single and non-single policies.
The report also indicates a 3.46 per cent growth in the total number of life insurance agent count to 757,236. The sustained efforts to enhance the penetration of life insurance in remote or underserved areas have contributed to the overall rise in the issuance of life insurance policies.
There are total 25 insurers offering life insurance products. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is the oldest, and in addition to this, there are 24 private sector companies in this space.
Notably, the LIC's premium collection dropped by approximately 41 per cent y-o-y to Rs 13,523.87 crore. In contrast, the cumulative net premiums collected by the private sector experienced a 7 per cent growth, reaching Rs 16,694.85 crore, particularly following changes in insurance rules, such as the surrender value.
The majority of the decline in LIC premiums stemmed from group single premiums, which fell from Rs 17,601.97 crore in December 2023 to Rs 8,191.29 crore in December 2024. Additionally, its individual non-single premiums also declined by 15.5 per cent to Rs 2,628.74 crore.
In comparison, private sector insurance companies reported a y-o-y growth of 7 per cent and a 13.87 per cent increase for the year, up to December 2024.
SBI Life Insurance saw a rise of 15.21 per cent in new premium collection, totalling Rs 5,307.98 crore. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’s premium collections grew from Rs 1,497.27 crore to Rs 1,555.24 crore in December 2024, representing a growth of 3.87 per cent. However, HDFC Life Insurance experienced a decline of 4.55 per cent, with premium collections falling to Rs 2,713.49 crore in December 2024 compared to the previous year.