LIC lags private insurers in NBP growth in October 2024

11 Nov 2024 , 10:36 AM

OCTOBER 2024 SURELY BELONGED TO THE PRIVATE INSURERS

There were just no two opinions about that. The private insurers did much better than LIC in the month of October; both in terms of new business premium (NBP) growth as well as in terms of number of policies sold. In fact, LIC saw its number of policies sold falling by almost half in October 2024, pulling down the performance of the entire sector. However, in cumulative terms, it is LIC that still dominates the private insures for the first 7 months of FY25. What has worked for the private insurers is that it is not just the Big-3 names of SBI, HDFC and Pru ICICI dominating the NBP. There are at least 4-5 other players who are emerging as serious players in the life insurance business and that is helping.

PRIVATE INSURERS HAVE UPPER HAND IN NBP GROWTH IN OCT-24

The table below captures the performance of LIC, private insurers and the overall insurance sector for October 2024 and for the first 7 months of FY25.

PARTICULARS	NBP (Oct-2024)	NBP (Oct -2023)	Growth YOY (%) Oct -24 / Oct -23	Growth YOY (%) FY25 / FY24
Individual Single Premium	3,397.07	3,127.93	8.60%	14.16%
Individual Non Single Premium	7,453.50	7,252.99	2.76%	18.23%
Group Single Premium	18,258.37	15,765.88	15.81%	21.15%
Group Non Single Premium	147.65	87.90	67.97%	-11.45%
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	1,091.00	584.29	86.72%	4.72%
Grand Total Premium Flows	30,347.60	26,819.01	13.16%	18.56%
PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANIES
Individual Single Premium	1,661.15	1,387.86	19.69%	8.64%
Individual Non Single Premium	5,476.80	4,895.34	11.88%	22.57%
Group Single Premium	5,129.67	4,343.95	18.09%	6.11%
Group Non Single Premium	8.42	22.95	-63.31%	-21.51%
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	940.46	521.77	80.24%	-0.67%
Private Insurer Premium Flows	13,216.51	11,171.86	18.30%	12.97%
LIC OF INDIA
Individual Single Premium	1,735.92	1,740.07	-0.24%	18.69%
Individual Non Single Premium	1,976.70	2,357.65	-16.16%	9.45%
Group Single Premium	13,128.70	11,421.94	14.94%	26.72%
Group Non Single Premium	139.23	64.95	114.36%	-11.03%
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	150.54	62.53	140.75%	28.39%
LIC Premium Flows	17,131.09	15,647.15	9.48%	22.52%

Data Source: Life Insurance Council (New Business Premiums – NBP figures are ₹ in Crore)

There are 2 quick takeaways from the NBP data for October 2024 and for FY25 till date.

• The life insurance sector saw yoy growth in first year premiums of 13.16% in October 2024. Private insurers dominated NBP growth in October 2024 at 18.3%, while LIC lagged at 9.48%. However, LIC is still doing a better job on a cumulative basis for FY25; growing NBP at 22.52% against just 12.97% for FY25.
• If you look at overall premium collections for October 2024 it was lower MOM at ₹30,348 Crore. What were the respective contributions of LIC and the private insurers? For instance, private insurers saw their share of NBP rise to 43.55% in October 2024; compared to 41.84% in September, and 40.85% in August. LIC accounted for 56.45% in October 2024; compared to 58.16% in September 2024, and 59.15% in August 2024.

Private insurers have improved their share of NBP in October 2024; compared to September and August; at the cost of LIC.

LIC GROWTH IN NUMBER OF POLICIES PLUMMETS

In October 2024, the number policies sold by LIC fell by more than half, even as private players saw their policy sales flat on yoy basis.

PARTICULARS	Policies (Oct -2024)	Policies (Oct -2023)	Growth YOY (%) Oct -24 / Oct -23	Growth YOY (%) FY25 / FY24
Individual Single Premium	69,897	78,781	-11.28%	13.95%
Individual Non Single Premium	11,28,733	19,74,621	-42.84%	5.01%
Group Single Premium	210	214	-1.87%	45.90%
Group Non Single Premium	364	334	8.98%	17.65%
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	2,010	2,978	-32.51%	-1.68%
Grand Total No. of Policies	12,01,214	20,56,928	-41.60%	5.42%
PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANIES
Individual Single Premium	23,842	17,730	34.47%	17.97%
Individual Non Single Premium	6,03,754	6,16,754	-2.11%	11.05%
Group Single Premium	210	163	28.83%	49.28%
Group Non Single Premium	21	9	133.33%	88.64%
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	469	432	8.56%	4.57%
Private Insurer No. of Policies	6,28,296	6,35,088	-1.07%	11.28%
LIC OF INDIA
Individual Single Premium	46,055	61,051	-24.56%	12.80%
Individual Non Single Premium	5,24,979	13,57,867	-61.34%	2.20%
Group Single Premium	0	51	-100.00%	30.52%
Group Non Single Premium	343	325	5.54%	16.33%
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	1,541	2,546	-39.47%	-3.08%
LIC No. of Policies	5,72,918	14,21,840	-59.71%	2.76%

Data Source: Life Insurance Council (Number of Policies are absolute figures)

Here are some quick takeaways from the data points on insurance for October 2024 in terms of number of policies sold.

• The overall insurance sector saw a sharp fall in number of policies sold at -41.6% for October 2024. While the number of policies sold by LIC fell by -59.7%, the policy sales by the private players was largely flat at -1.07%. For LIC, the sharpest fall in policies sold came from individual non-single premium policies and individual single premium policies. Cumulative growth for LIC in FY25 was muted at 2.76%.
• If you look at overall policies sold for October 2024 at 12.01 Lakh policies, the contributions of LIC and private insurers are inching closer. Private insurers saw their share of number of policies improve to 52.3%, while LIC saw its share for October fall to just 47.7%.

Let us now turn to how the 4 largest private life insurers saw NBP growth adding up in the month of October 2024.

NBP TRENDS: KEY PRIVATE LIFE INSURERS BUILD HEFT IN OCTOBER 2024?

In the month of October 2024, private insurers saw 18.3% growth in new business premium (NBP). Here are the big 4 private insurers with NBP of over ₹1,000 crore for the month.

HDFC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY	Oct-24 NBP (₹ in Crore)	Oct-23 NBP (₹ in Crore)	YOY Growth (in %)
Individual Single Premium	260.97	290.36	-10.12%
Individual Non Single Premium	815.42	664.14	22.78%
Group Single Premium	1,713.23	1,218.04	40.65%
Group Non Single Premium	0.00	0.00	N.A.
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	9.53	15.50	-38.52%
Total	2,799.15	2,188.04	27.93%

Data Source: Life Insurance Council (Premium figures are ₹ in Crore)

With NBP of ₹2,779.15 Crore in October 2024, HDFC Life Insurance saw 27.93% yoy growth in NBP collections. The significant growth of 40.65% came from Group single premium policies; followed by individual non-single premium policy NBP growing at 22.78%. Let us turn to SBI Life Insurance.

SBI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY	Oct-24 NBP (₹ in Crore)	Oct-23 NBP (₹ in Crore)	YOY Growth (in %)
Individual Single Premium	633.69	554.74	14.23%
Individual Non Single Premium	1,363.09	1,242.42	9.71%
Group Single Premium	596.43	918.15	-35.04%
Group Non Single Premium	0.88	1.71	-48.54%
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	54.29	36.27	49.68%
Total	2,648.38	2,753.29	-3.81%

Data Source: Life Insurance Council (Premium figures are ₹ in Crore)

With NBP of ₹2,648.38 Crore in October 2024, SBI Life Insurance saw -3.81% contraction in new business premium yoy. The positive growth of 49.68% came from group yearly renewable premium, followed by individual single premium growing at 14.23%. Let us turn to ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE	Oct-24 NBP (₹ in Crore)	Oct-23 NBP (₹ in Crore)	YOY Growth (in %)
Individual Single Premium	135.52	124.64	8.73%
Individual Non Single Premium	571.66	468.14	22.11%
Group Single Premium	508.24	480.69	5.73%
Group Non Single Premium	0.00	0.00	N.A.
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	449.39	255.29	76.03%
Total	1,664.81	1,328.76	25.29%

Data Source: Life Insurance Council (Premium figures are ₹ in Crore)

With NBP of ₹1,664.81 Crore in October 2024, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has seen healthy 25.29% growth in new business premium yoy. The significant growth of 76.03% came from group yearly renewable policies followed by individual non-single premium policies at 22.11%. Let us shift focus to Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

BAJAJ ALLIANZ LIFE INSURANCE	Oct-24 NBP (₹ in Crore)	Oct-23 NBP (₹ in Crore)	YOY Growth (in %)
Individual Single Premium	48.35	37.77	28.01%
Individual Non Single Premium	483.04	440.66	9.62%
Group Single Premium	499.05	359.05	38.99%
Group Non Single Premium	0.00	0.00	N.A.
Group Yearly Renewable Premium	18.51	26.09	-29.05%
Total	1,048.95	863.56	21.47%

Data Source: Life Insurance Council (Premium figures are ₹ in Crore)

With NBP of ₹1,048.95 Crore in October 2024, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has seen robust 21.47% growth in new business premium YoY. Group single premium at 38.99% and Individual single premium at 28.01% led the growth. NBP contraction was visible in Group Yearly Renewable Premium policies.