MUMBAI: For the first time, SBI Life Insurance recorded higher premiums than LIC in regular premium (as against one-time premium) policies in Dec 2024.
SBI Life garnered Rs 3,416 crore from new individual non-single premium policies, marking a 16.7% rise over Dec 2023. Meanwhile, LIC’s collections in the same segment fell to Rs 2,628 crore, a 15% decline from Rs 3,111 crore last year.
LIC’s Dec premium dropped by over 40% compared to Rs 22,981 crore in the same month in 2023. The largest decline came from group single premium policies, which fell to Rs 8,191 crore from Rs 17,601 crore last year. Despite this, LIC retained its lead as the largest player with total new business premiums of Rs 13,523 crore in Dec 2024, representing 44% of the industry premium of Rs 30,218 crore.
SBI Life’s premium growth continued, rising 15% to Rs 5,307 crore in Dec 2024. This increased its market share to 17.5% for the month. From Apr to Dec, SBI Life held a 9.5% market share, ahead of HDFC Life at 8.2% and ICICI Prudential Life at 5.5%.
The life insurance industry as a whole saw a 21% drop in premiums for Dec 2024 compared to Dec 2023. LIC’s market share for the Apr-Dec period stood at 57.4%, slightly lower than 58.8% last year.