Life insurers’ new business premium rises 12% in October, led by private players

Life insurance provisional data for October

India’s life insurance industry reported a 12 percent year-on-year rise in new business premium (NBP) in October 2025, led by strong momentum among private insurers.

According to provisional data from the Life Insurance Council, total NBP collected during the month stood at Rs 34,006.95 crore, compared to Rs 30,347.60 crore in October 2024. For the April–October period of FY26, the cumulative NBP rose 8.25 percent YoY to Rs 2.38 lakh crore, from Rs 2.20 lakh crore in the same period last year.

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) maintained its leadership position, contributing Rs 19,274.01 crore to total NBP in October, a growth of 5.73 percent over Rs 17,131.09 crore a year ago. Growth for the state-owned insurer was supported by its individual single premium segment, which rose 7.53 percent, and group single premium, up 5.96 percent. However, LIC’s individual non-single premium declined 6.49 percent, while its group yearly renewable premium surged 85.46 percent YoY to Rs 144.65 crore. The corporation’s policy count fell 12.63 percent year-to-date (YTD), with 85.27 lakh policies issued till October against 97.60 lakh during the same period last year.

Private insurers, on the other hand, continued to post stronger growth, recording a 12.10 percent year on year increase in total premium to Rs 14,732.94 crore from Rs 13,216.51 crore last year. The cumulative premium for private life insurers during April–October rose to Rs 97,392.92 crore, up from Rs 86,880.67 crore, representing a solid 12 percent YTD growth.

Among the major private players, SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd led with a 17.17 percent year on year rise in total premium to Rs 3,185.01 crore, supported by growth in both individual and group segments.

HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd followed with a 10.70 percent year on year increase to Rs 2,828.81 crore, backed by a 10 percent rise in individual non-single premium.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd reported 8.37 percent growth in total premium at Rs 1,773.16 crore, aided by higher single and yearly renewable premiums.

Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Ltd saw its total premium increase 11.69 percent year on year to Rs 736.51 crore, while Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Ltd recorded a 9.91 percent rise to Rs 1,135.39 crore, driven by a 31 percent jump in group single-premium business.

Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Ltd remained largely stable at Rs 647.17 crore, while Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd posted a 4.51 percent decline to Rs 1,122.69 crore, weighed down by a sharp fall in individual single-premium income.

Several mid-sized and emerging insurers recorded notable growth.

PNB MetLife India Life Insurance rose 17 percent year on year to Rs 513.25 crore, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance was up 13.39 percent to Rs 437.12 crore, and Pramerica Life Insurance grew 16.72 percent to Rs 108.17 crore.

Smaller insurers such as Bandhan Life Insurance (formerly Aegon Life) and GoDigit Life Insurance showed notable growth of 162 percent and 28 percent, respectively, on a low base.

Across categories, individual single-premium rose 6.44 percent year on year to Rs 3,962 crore, while individual non-single premium increased 4.34 percent to Rs 8,871 crore.

The group single-premium segment, typically comprising employee benefits and bulk schemes, grew 7.77 percent to Rs 19,499 crore. Meanwhile, group yearly renewable premiums surged 51.19 percent to Rs 1,066 crore, reflecting the increasing renewal momentum among corporate clients.