Life insurance business recorded an increase of 1.4 percent in premium for first two months of the current fiscal
According to IRDA data, life insurers garnered Rs 12,428 crore in the first two months of the current fiscal compared to Rs 12,253 crore during the same period last year. Private sector insurers reported a combined business of Rs 3,214 crore from Rs 2,980 crore during the same period of the previous fiscal, indicating 7.8 percent increase in premium business.
Overall, the life insurance business showed 1.4 percent increase. However, LIC, the largest life insurer’s business declined to Rs 9,214 crore from Rs 9,273 crore during the same period last year. ICICI Prudential Life too saw a decline in business from Rs 542 crore in last fiscal to Rs 445 crore in the current fiscal
HDFC Standard saw a growth in premium to Rs 428 crore from Rs 292 crore, Birla Sunlife reported an increase to Rs 209 crore from Rs 162 and Metlife reported a growth of Rs 162 crore from Rs 53 crore.
But insurers are worried about the future as IRDA has instructed the insurance players to re-file all the existing products till September 2012 according to the new product guidelines. “Our main worry is after we launch the new re-filed products again in the market, it will take some time for the consumers to absorb those products. This might affect our business,” said a CEO of a top life insurance company.
All existing products based on earlier norms will have to be withdrawn from the market by 1st October.