LIC collects Rs 1.84 lakh crore in new premiums, its highest ever in FY21

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) collected new premiums of Rs 1.84 lakh crore in FY21 as per its provisional figures. It also paid out Rs 1.34 lakh crore as claims during the year.

The insurer said that this is its highest ever new premium collection. While LIC did not disclose comparable figures of the previous year, Life Insurance Council data showed that LIC had a 3.5 percent growth over the previous fiscal.

This is despite the Coronavirus outbreak where there was a nationwide lockdown imposed during Q1FY21. The life insurance industry as a whole collected Rs 2.78 lakh crore of new premiums, showing a 7.5 percent YoY growth in FY21. Here, private life insurers collected new premiums of Rs 94,103 crore, showing YoY growth of 16.3 percent.

In FY21, LIC had new premiums of Rs 56,406 crore under individual assurance business with a YoY growth of 10.1 percent. LIC's market share was 81.04 percent in number of policies for the month of March 2021 and 74.58 percent for the year. On the basis of new premiums, LIC's market share is 64.74 percent for March and 66.18 percent for the whole year.

"Our Pension and Group Schemes vertical also created a new record by clocking its highest ever New Business Premium Income of Rs 1,27,768 crore as against Rs 1,26,749 crore in the previous year," said LIC in a statement. With the addition of 3,45,469 agents in FY21, LIC has a strong sales force of 13,53,808 agents. This year LIC had 16,564 MDRT qualifiers, the highest ever.

Founded in 1927, the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), is a global, independent association of more than 62,000 of the world's leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 500 companies in 69 countries. Globally, MDRT membership is recognised as the standard of excellence in life insurance and financial services business. And here, LIC has consistently topped the members' list.

In the unit-linked insurance business (ULIP), LIC had launched SIIP and Nivesh Plus. The insurer said that it sold more than 90,000 policies under this category collecting premiums in excess of Rs 800 crore. On the claims front, LIC said that it has settled 21.9 million maturity claims, money back claims and annuities, amounting to Rs 1,16,265.15 crore in FY21. Further, it settled 9,59,000 death claims amounting to Rs 18,137.34 crore.