Life insurers’ premium collection rises 2.3%

The premium collections of life insurers stood almost flat with just a 2.3 cent rise in October at Rs 6,851 crore, compared to the corresponding month last year, according to data from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). While the new business premiums of private life insurers were marginally down with a one per cent drop in October, compared to October 2011, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) saw a four per cent rise.

For the period from April to November, the premium figures saw a drop of 3.4 per cent and stood at Rs 53,814 crore, compared to Rs 55,738 crore in the similar period last year. Among the public and private insurers, private insurers had a five per cent drop in premiums for the April to October period, compared to the corresponding period last year, while LIC saw a three per cent drop in premiums for this period on a year-on-year basis.

Private sector insurers also saw a 15 per cent drop in policies in this period (April to October) compared to last year, while LIC saw a two per cent rise in policies in the same period compared to 2011. For October, on a y-o-y basis, private life insurers witnessed an eight per cent drop in policies, while LIC saw an 11 per cent rise the in number of policies.

Among the private insurers, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance saw the highest growth in new business figures with the new premium figure standing at Rs 14 crore in the April to October period, compared to Rs 1 crore in same period last year.

Due to the stagnant performance, the market share of the private life insurance companies in the industry fell to 25.5 per cent in April-October, compared with 26 per cent last year.

In October too the market share of private insurers stood at 31 per cent compared to 32.2 per cent in October 2011. This has led to a situation where the rest of the market share of the life insurance industry is held by LIC.