Life Insurance Premiums Up by ₹10,000 Crore in April-May Despite Muted Policy Growth

Life insurers increased premiums by ₹10,000 crore from April to May through higher value products and group insurance contracts.  

Despite this growth in premiums, policy counts advance only by 5% to 29.6 lakh, as per the news report.  

Premium Growth versus Policy Increase 

According to the Life Insurance Council, new business premiums increased 19.4% year-on-year to ₹62,581 crore during April-May FY27.  

In comparison, the number of policies sold rose by only 5% to 29.6 lakh. This disparity indicates a shift in industry focus towards high-premium contracts.  

Growth in life insurance is increasingly driven by more significant ticket sizes as opposed to simply expanding the customer base. 

Dominance of Group Single-Premium Business 

The group single-premium segment led this premium increase, growing by over 20% to ₹37,537 crore. It accounted for nearly 60% of the industry premiums during the period.  

Individual non-single premium policies, which indicate long-term retail insurance penetration, saw premiums rise by 16.7% but policy growth was just 4.8%. 

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Private versus Public Sector Performance 

Premium expansion outpaced customer acquisition across the board. Private life insurers experienced a 21.3% rise in premium income and a 13.7% increase in policies.  

LIC reported an 18.1% increase in premiums, with a negligible 0.1% policy growth, reflecting the concentration of growth among existing customers and institutional contracts. 

Conclusion 

Life insurers added ₹10,000 crore in premiums during April-May FY27, driven by significant group single-premium business at ₹37,537 crore. Despite a 19.4% increase in premiums, policy growth was limited to 5%. 

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