When it comes to paying out insurance claims, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has maintained an impeccable reputation for the past many years. Once again this year, it continues to be the market leader with a settlement ratio of 98.31% for FY17, as per a report released by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India on Thursday. However, private life insurers are soon catching up. Second in the list is ICICI Pru Life with a claim settlement ratio of 96.68%. HDFC Life stands third with a claim settlement ratio of 97.62%. While LIC paid claims on 7,56,399 policies, ICICI Pru Life settled 10,539 policies in FY17. HDFC paid claims on 12,421 policies in the same time period.
Claim Settlement Ratio is the total number of death claims approved by an insurance company in a financial year, divided by the total number of death claims received by the insurance company. It is measured for all products of the company put together (not term insurance plans alone).
The report says, during 2016-17, private life insurers resolved 99.73% of complaints reported, while LIC resolved 100% of the complaints. As of now, there are no pending complaints of LIC as of March 31, 2017.
The numbers mentioned in the report are based on the complaints registered with the IRDAI’s Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS). The life insurance industry registered a profit after tax the life insurance industry reported a profit after tax of Rs 7,727.9 crore as against Rs 7,415.43 crore in 2015-16 in 2016-17.
About LIC
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian state-owned insurance group and investment company headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest insurance company in India with an estimated asset value of Rs 1,560,482 crore ($240 billion). The Life Insurance Corporation of India was founded in 1956 when the Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance of India Act that nationalised the private insurance industry in India. Over 245 insurance companies and provident societies were merged to create the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation.
