Two Indian life insurers report rapid growth
Two Indian life insurers report rapid growth | Insurance Business Asia
Life & Health
Two Indian life insurers report rapid growth
Companies highlight factors contributing to latest financial performance
Life & Health
By
Roxanne Libatique
Indian life insurers experienced solid growth in the first half of FY2025 (H1 FY2025), supported by increasing demand for insurance products, favourable investment conditions, and ongoing digitisation efforts.
The insurer also saw a 12.5% rise in policies sold, attributing the growth to a diversified product portfolio and distribution network.
ICICI Prudential increased its private sector market share to 10.3% in H1 FY2025, up from 9.2% a year earlier, as measured by RWRP.
The company’s annuity business saw strong performance, with its annuity APE growing by 99.5% to ₹433 crore. Additionally, the retail protection business showed positive results, with APE rising 17.2% to ₹279 crore. Together, these segments contributed 48.2% of the company’s new business premium for the first half of the fiscal year.
The new business sum assured (NBSA), representing the total life cover provided, increased by 15.5% year-on-year to ₹5.67 lakh crore. The in-force sum assured, reflecting the total life cover underwritten, grew by 14.8% to ₹36.37 lakh crore as of Sept. 30, 2024.
ICICI Prudential maintained a broad distribution channel, with contributions from agency (30.4%), direct (15.5%), bancassurance (29.1%), partnership distribution (10.6%), and group business (14.3%) toward the APE in H1 FY2025.
The company’s value of new business (VNB), a key metric for profitability, increased 4.2% year-on-year to ₹1,058 crore, with a VNB margin of 23.7%. Profit after tax rose by 5.8% to ₹477 crore. Embedded value, reflecting the insurer’s long-term value, grew 19.4% to ₹46,018 crore by the end of September 2024.
ICICI Prudential’s assets under management (AUM) increased by 17.9% year-on-year to ₹3.20 lakh crore.
The company continues to maintain a clean record with zero non-performing assets (NPAs) since its inception. Its solvency ratio stood at 188.6%, significantly higher than the regulatory requirement of 150%.
The insurer’s board has also approved plans to raise up to ₹1,400 crore via non-convertible debentures to support capital and future growth.
Commenting on the company’s results, Anup Bagchi, managing director and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, noted that the growth in RWRP outpaced the overall private life insurance market, increasing the company’s market share by 1.1%.
He emphasised the growth potential in the annuity and protection segments, which remain under-penetrated, and highlighted the company’s focus on digitisation. Nearly 48% of policies in the savings line were issued on the same day, improving the onboarding experience for customers.
SBI Life Insurance financial results
In parallel, SBI Life Insurance reported positive results for the second quarter (Q2), driven by higher investment income and growing demand for unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs).
SBI Life’s APE sales rose by 9% year-on-year, and its value of new business (VNB) increased by 2% to ₹24.2 billion for the half-year ending in September 2024.
SBI Life’s product mix shifted further toward ULIPs, which accounted for 63% of its portfolio in the first half of FY2025, compared to 56% the previous year. This shift, driven by stronger equity market performance, led to a slight reduction in the insurer’s VNB margin, which fell to 26.8% from 28.6%.
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