Life Insurers See Surge in New Business as Premiums Jump Over 60%
According to the latest data released by the Life Insurance Council, life insurance companies in the country witnessed a massive spike in new business premiums during the month of April 2024. New business premium, which refers to the premium earned from selling new policies, grew by a whopping 61.23% to Rs. 20,258.86 crore last month compared to Rs. 12,565.31 crore in April 2023.
The substantial growth was powered primarily by a more than 126% jump in single premium policies under group insurance plans. Separately, individual insurance plans also recorded healthy gains, with single premium plans seeing a 19% rise in the number of policies sold and non-single premium plans registering a 10% increase.
A breakdown of the figures show that insurers were successful in adding approximately 49,205 new insurance agents over the month to aid expansion. This surge can likely be attributed to increased awareness about the importance of life coverage and financial protection, as well as improved affordability driven by competitive premium rates.
Overall, the robust performance is indicative of strengthened demand as the sector bounces back after overcoming the challenges of the pandemic. Going forward, continued efforts by insurers towards deepening penetration and expanding their workforce can help sustain the positive momentum.
