Indian Life Insurance Sector Sees Growth in Premiums Despite Fewer Policies in October 2024
The Indian life insurance industry experienced significant growth in new business premiums (NBPs) in October 2024, with a 13.16% increase compared to the previous year, according to the Life Insurance Council’s report. Premiums rose from Rs 26,819.01 crore in October 2023 to Rs 30,347.6 crore in October 2024. Year-to-date (YTD) collections also saw an 18.56% rise, reaching Rs 2,19,561.64 crore.
Despite the financial success, the number of new policies issued dropped by 41.6%, with only 12,01,214 policies issued in October 2024 compared to 20,56,928 in the same month last year. The industry’s efforts to attract new customers led to a 4.52% increase in combined individual premium collections for October and a 16.89% growth YTD.
Individual single premiums grew by 8.6% YoY in October, totaling Rs 3,397.07 crore, and saw a 14.16% increase YTD. Individual non-single premiums rose by 2.76% in October to Rs 7,453.5 crore, with an 18.23% YTD increase. The group policy segment also showed strong growth, with group single premiums increasing by 15.81% to Rs 18,258.37 crore in October, achieving an 18.61% YoY growth.
While individual policy issuances declined, group policy issuances increased by 2.7% YoY. The life insurance sector added 5,82,565 individual agents over the past year, increasing the total agent count by 2.64%. The Life Insurance Council highlighted the sector’s move towards digitization to enhance customer reach and service delivery, which is expected to boost insurance penetration and sustain premium growth in the future.
Doubts Revealed
Life Insurance -: Life insurance is a type of insurance that provides financial protection to a person’s family or beneficiaries when the person passes away. It helps ensure that the family has money to cover expenses and maintain their lifestyle.
Premiums -: Premiums are the amount of money that people pay to the insurance company regularly to keep their insurance policy active. It’s like a subscription fee for having insurance protection.
New Business Premiums -: New business premiums refer to the money collected from new insurance policies that people buy. It shows how much new business the insurance companies are getting.
Rs 30,347.6 crore -: Rs 30,347.6 crore is a way to express a large amount of money in Indian currency, Rupees. One crore is equal to ten million, so this is a very big number showing how much money was collected.
Policy Issuances -: Policy issuances mean the number of new insurance policies that are given to people. It’s like counting how many new customers got insurance.
Individual Single Premiums -: Individual single premiums are payments made by a person for a life insurance policy in one lump sum, instead of paying in smaller amounts over time.
Group Single Premiums -: Group single premiums are payments made for a life insurance policy that covers a group of people, like employees of a company, in one lump sum.
Agents -: Agents are people who help sell insurance policies to customers. They explain the benefits and help people choose the right insurance plan.
Digitization -: Digitization means using digital technology, like computers and the internet, to make things easier and faster. In insurance, it helps in selling policies online and managing customer information efficiently.
