New Delhi, Sep 9 Indian life insurance companies reported steady growth in August, with new business premiums (NBPs) rising 6.01 per cent compared to the same month last year, a new report said on Tuesday.
According to data released by the Life Insurance Council, NBPs touched Rs 1,63,461.52 crore in August this year, up from Rs 1,54,193.76 crore in August 2024.
The rise was supported by higher sales of both single and non-single premium policies.
Individual single premiums grew by 9.71 per cent, while individual non-single premiums increased by 4.51 per cent during the month.
On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, individual premium collections posted a 6.20 per cent growth.
The council said the industry’s growth was driven by a stronger focus on first-time insurance buyers and wider distribution.
Life insurers added more than 4.37 lakh new individual agents in the period. However, due to attrition, the overall agent base grew by 2.75 per cent.
Industry officials said that a combination of agent additions and rapid digitisation will further strengthen insurance penetration across the country.
"Agent addition, along with the rapid pace of digitisation, is expected to further boost insurance penetration, providing sustained momentum to new business premiums in FY25 and beyond," the council noted.
They expect this momentum to sustain in the coming months and into FY25.
The sector is also likely to get a major boost after the GST Council’s recent decision to waive tax on premiums of individual life and health insurance policies, which is expected to attract more customers and improve long-term growth.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, experts said that the GST rationalisation on life and health insurance premiums will significantly improve affordability, strengthen penetration and provide a boost to consumption ahead of the festive season.
The move comes as part of the broader GST rationalisation, which merged the 12 per cent slab with 5 per cent and subsumed the 28 per cent into 18 per cent.
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