Life insurers’ new business premiums rise 14.8% in September, led by private players

Life insurers' September NBP data

Life insurers’ new business premiums (NBP) rose 14.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 40,206.67 crore in September 2025, up from Rs 35,020.28 crore in the same month last year, according to provisional data released by the Life Insurance Council.

The growth was driven largely by private insurers, which continued to outpace the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in percentage terms — underscoring their expanding reach in the individual business segment.

Private players maintain strong lead

Private life insurers collectively reported a 17.8 percent rise in new business premiums to Rs 17,249.58 crore in September 2025, from Rs 14,651.02 crore a year earlier. For the first half of FY26 (April–September 2025), their cumulative premium collections stood at Rs 82,660 crore, up 12.2 percent from Rs 73,664 crore in the year-ago period.

The rise was supported by steady traction in both the individual non-single premium and group single premium categories. Private players’ individual non-single premiums climbed 8 percent year-on-year to Rs 8,228 crore in September, while group single premiums rose 13.8 percent to Rs 5,897 crore.

LIC’s growth remains modest

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) posted a 12.7 percent year-on-year increase in new business premiums to Rs 22,957.09 crore in September 2025, compared to Rs 20,369.26 crore a year earlier.

On a year-to-date basis, LIC’s collections rose 4.7 percent to Rs 1,21,008 crore, from Rs 1,15,550 crore in the first half of FY25.

While LIC reported gains in group single and yearly renewable segments up 6.2 percent and 95.2 percent, respectively its individual non-single premium income declined 10.8 percent year-on-year in September. The number of individual policies sold also continued to fall, down more than 20 percent year-to-date, indicating ongoing weakness in retail sales.

Industry policy volumes under pressure

Across the industry, the total number of policies sold in April–September 2025 dropped 14.3 percent year-on-year to 1.15 crore, from 1.34 crore a year earlier.

The decline was sharpest in the individual non-single segment, where policy count fell 14.6 percent, even as overall premium values rose — pointing to higher ticket sizes.

By segment, individual single premiums grew 5 percent year-to-date to Rs 24,992 crore, while group single premiums rose 8 percent to Rs 1,16,402 crore. The group yearly renewable premium segment saw the strongest surge, jumping 61 percent to Rs 9,083 crore, though policy counts there plunged 54 percent, reflecting a concentration of premiums in fewer large group contracts.

SBI Life, HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential top private charts

Among private insurers, SBI Life led the market with Rs 3,953.22 crore in September new business premiums, up 16.6 percent year-on-year. HDFC Life followed with Rs 2,942.30 crore (up 12.5 percent) and ICICI Prudential Life with Rs 1,761.28 crore (up 8.7 percent).
Tata AIA Life also posted strong growth of 11.9 percent, driven by robust non-single premium inflows.

Smaller and mid-sized insurers saw standout growth: PNB MetLife rose 23.1 percent, Bandhan Life (formerly Aegon Life) surged 178 percent, and Generali Central Life more than doubled its new business, up 114.6 percent year-on-year.