LIC’s new policy volumes touch 6-year high

Mumbai: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) said it underwrote the highest number of policies in over six years during the previous financial year despite a washed-out closing fortnight in March, when life insurers typically process higher volumes of business.

The ongoing nationwide lockdown to stem the Covid-19 virus outbreak began on March 25, hitting movement of people and goods and impacting businesses, including services.

In terms of individual new business, LIC issued 21.9 million policies in the fiscal year. The IPO-bound insurer’s first-year premium income grew 25 per cent to ₹51,000 crore compared to an industry growth of about 11.6 per cent, LIC said in a round-up of its performance in the just concluded financial year.

“The industry’s positive growth in policies is also due to LIC’s superlative performance,” the insurer said. It collected single premium of ₹21,967 crore and non-single premium of ₹29,260 crore, with a mix of about 43 per cent for single premium and 57 per cent for non-single premium.

The public sector insurer also said that its composite market share in number of policies touched 75.9 per cent in 2019-20, increasing by 1.19 percentage points over the period. Similarly, its market share in firstyear premium touched about 69 per cent, increasing by 2.5 percentage points in the period.

Additionally, LIC settled 20.3 million maturity and money back claims and annuities over the financial year, it said while settling 750,000 death claims in this period.

The Economic Times
28/04/2020