Life insurers' premium income up 19% in Apr-May

The life insurance industry recorded a robust 19% year-on-year increase in premium income during the first two months of 2026-27, driven by strong growth in individual policies and improving retail demand following the goods and services tax (GST) exemption on individual life insurance products.

Total premium collection increased to ₹62,581 crore during April-May, compared with ₹52,427 crore a year ago, according to industry data.

The growth was broad-based, with both state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and private insurers reporting healthy gains. LIC collected ₹37,824 crore during the period, up from ₹32,016 crore a year earlier, while private insurers garnered ₹24,756 crore against ₹20,411 crore.


Industry executives said customer interest in individual savings and protection products remained strong, aided by exemption of GST on individual life insurance policies which made products more attractive and improved persistency or the rate at which policyholders keep their policies active by paying premiums on time.

LIC's retail business continued to perform well, with individual non-single premium income increasing 17% and individual single-premium collection growing 15%. The insurer, however, saw some moderation in group business during the period.

Private insurers outpaced the industry average, reporting a 21.3% increase in premium collection. Growth was led by regular-premium products, with individual non-single premium income increasing 16.5%, while individual single-premium business grew 7.7%.

Among listed insurers, SBI Life Insurance reported about 23% growth while ICICI Prudential Life Insurance saw an 18.9% increase in premium income, in line with the industry average. At the same time, HDFC Life reported muted 2.9% growth.

The momentum continued in the number of policies, with the industry selling 5% more new policies during the first two months of the financial year compared with the year-ago period.