Is Life Insurance Getting Expensive? LIC Report Sheds Light

Indian life insurance sector recorded a robust year-on-year (YoY) growth in new business premiums (NBPs) for October 2024, with premiums increasing by 13.16% compared to same period last year, Life Insurance Council observed in its October 2024 business report. 
NBP collections surged from Rs 26,819.01 crore in October 2023 to Rs 30,347.6 crore in October 2024. 
insurance sector witnessed a remarkable year-to-date (YTD) performance with collections rising 18.56%, from Rs 1,85,195.81 crore to Rs 2,19,561.64 crore, as per Life Insurance Council. 
However, even with this positive financial performance, number of new policies issued took a sharp downturn, declining 41.6%. 
month of October 2024 saw only 12,01,214 policies issued, a steep drop from 20,56,928 policies sold in same period last month. 
industry's focus on attracting new customers propelled expansion in sector. sector achieved a 4.52% increase in combined individual premium collections for October and a significant 16.89% growth YTD.
Breaking down premium s, individual single premiums experienced an 8.6% YoY growth in October, totaling Rs 3,397.07 crore. Year-to-date, this segment saw an even stronger increase of 14.16%. Meanwhile, individual n-single premiums rose 2.76% in October to Rs 7,453.5 crore, with YTD collections marking an 18.23% YoY increase, as per data. 
group policy segment also contributed substantially to growth. Group single premiums soared by 15.81% to reach Rs 18,258.37 crore in October, helping this category achieve an 18.61% YoY growth in premiums. Policy issuances within group segment bucked downward trend of individual policy issuances, registering a modest increase of 2.7% YoY.
life insurers ded 5,82,565 individual nts over past year, bringing cumulative nt count up by 2.64%, as per data. 
Life Insurance Council ted that sector is embracing digitization for improved customer reach and service delivery. digital transformation is expected to amplify insurance penetration and drive sustained growth in premiums for FY25 and beyond, council ded.