New Business Premium Up by 6% for Life Insurers

The new business premium of life insurance companies grew 6 %  to Rs 33,156 crore in the June quarter, compared with a year-ago, boosted mainly by the performance of the private sector.  Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) saw new business income grow by 3 per cent to Rs 23,284 crore. The first-year premium, or premium earned by selling new policies by the private sector, rose 12 % to Rs 9,872 crore, data from IRDA showed. Among the private players, listed insurer ICICI Prudential reported a strong 57 % growth in  new business income to Rs 1,973 crore in the quarter. SBI Life, the second largest private sector life insurer, saw 3 % decline in new business to Rs 1,798 crore, the data revealed. Other bank-promoted insurance company PNBBSE 1.31 % Metlife posted a 22 % rise in income to Rs 230 crore at the end of June 30, 2017. The regulator added a new category group -yearly renewable premium -which captures the growth in the group term insurance space. While the industry collected a total of Rs 606 crore under this segment, the private sector contributed a large chunk worth Rs 536.44 crore. “This is the first month of a revised reporting format in group business that may have resulted in some inconsistency in interpretation and reporting for overall business,” said RM Vishakha MD IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company. HDFC Life saw 15 % growth while Max Life saw 16 % increase in new business income during the quarter.