Group non-single premiums plunge over 50% for second consecutive year

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India’s life insurance sector continue to face headwinds as group non-single premiums plunged by over 50 percent in July 2025, marking a second consecutive year of steep declines in this key renewal segment. This trend signals potential stress in the corporate life insurance space.

According to provisional data from the Life Insurance Council, group non-single premiums fell sharply to Rs 366.33 crore in July 2025, down from Rs 741 crore in the same month last year. The drop was echoed at the state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), where group non-single premiums contracted by more than 53 percent.

Meanwhile, the life insurance industry reported 22.4 percent climb in new business premium (NBP) in July 2025 to Rs 38,958 crore, up from Rs 31,823 crore in the same month last year. The growth was driven by both private insurers and the state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), as per provisional data released by the Life Insurance Council.

In the individual segment, single-premium collections grew 19.4 percent to Rs 5,506.81 crore, while regular-pay (non-single) premium rose 9.6 percent to Rs 10,051.05 crore.

Group single-premium business saw a sharper expansion of 29.5 percent, touching Rs 21,280.53 crore. However, group non-single premium fell sharply by over 50 percent to Rs 366.33 crore. Group yearly renewable premium jumped nearly 70 percent to Rs 1,753.32 crore.

Cumulatively, in the first four months of FY26 (April–July), the sector mobilised Rs 1,32,503 crore in premiums, a 9 percent increase over Rs 1,21,549 crore in the same period last fiscal. LIC accounted for Rs 82,028 crore of the YTD total, up 8.1 percent from a year ago, while private insurers together collected Rs 50,474 crore, up 10.5 percent.

LIC’s July premium rose 22.8 percent to Rs 22,617.64 crore, led by strong growth in individual single premium and group single premium, which touched Rs 15,916.29 crore, up 8.4 percent from a year earlier. However, its individual non-single premium dipped 3.4 percent and group non-single premium contracted by more than 53 percent. The corporation also saw a sharp rise in group yearly renewable premium to Rs 300.02 crore from Rs 112.92 crore last July.

Among private players, SBI Life Insurance maintained its leadership with July premiums of Rs 3,802.57 crore, marking a 26.9 percent year-on-year increase. HDFC Life followed with Rs 3,054.15 crore, a rise of 14.1 percent, while ICICI Prudential Life posted Rs 1,906.27 crore, up 7 percent. Other large private players also recorded double-digit gains. Axis Max Life collected Rs 1,051.05 crore, an increase of 19.1 percent, Tata AIA Life garnered Rs 933.74 crore, up 19.8 percent, while Bajaj Allianz Life brought in Rs 1,151.66 crore, a fall of 7.2 percent due to weaker individual non-single premium collections.

Some mid-sized insurers posted eye-catching growth rates. PNB MetLife’s July premium surged 84 percent to Rs 880.13 crore, driven by a massive jump in group single premium business. Star Union Dai-ichi Life recorded an 84.8 percent rise to Rs 880.13 crore, propelled by group single premiums more than doubling. Bandhan Life, formerly known as Aegon Life, reported a 120.8 percent jump to Rs 31.20 crore, while Future Generali India Life nearly doubled its premium to Rs 59.87 crore.

On the distribution side, the industry added 3.48 lakh new individual life insurance agents during the year to date, taking the total agent strength up by 2.27 percent.