Life insurance cos new biz premiums down 9.2%

Total new business premium of life insurance companies in the country declined by 9.2 per cent to Rs 1,14,232.73 crore in 2011-12 fiscal, the regulator IRDA said today.

Total new business premium or first-year premium of the industry was at Rs 125,826.03 crore a year ago.

Market leader LIC, a public sector life insurer, recorded 6.05 per cent decline in first year premium collection to Rs 81,514.49 crore from Rs 86,444.72 crore a year ago.

LIC's market share stood at 71 per cent at the end of March, 2012, according to the data. India has 24 public and private life insurance companies.

The combined first year premium of private sector life insurers, declined 16.9 per cent to Rs 32,718.24 crore, from a year ago.

Met Life showed an impressive 52.7 per cent increase in its first year premium for the period under review to Rs 1,074.9 crore, from Rs 703.95 crore a year ago.

DLF Pramerica witnessed a rise of 38.9 per cent in its first year premium to Rs 102.83 crore, Star Union Dai-ichi had a increase of 27.18 per cent to Rs 964.77 crore and IndiaFirst's new business premium rose by 39.38 per cent on the year to Rs 982.31 crore.

The non-life insurers, however, showed an increase in their premium collection during 2011-12 to Rs 58,344.16 crore, up 23.2 per cent over Rs 47,372.78 crore in 2010-11, the data said.

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