Private life insurance companies saw a sharp jump in their premium incomes in March 2023 ahead of the tax breaks on high-value policies coming to an end. The Union Budget has withdrawn tax breaks on covers where the annual premium crosses Rs 5 lakh.
According to data released by IRDAI, private life insurance companies saw their March premium grow 35% to Rs 23,365 crore, which helped boost their full-year premium by 20% to Rs 1,38,643 crore.
The industry, however, registered a lower growth rate in March as LIC saw its premium income shrink by 12.6% to Rs 28,716 crore vis a vis Rs 42,319 crore last year. The corporation grew its business by 16.7% for the full year to Rs 2,31,899 crore.
Among the large insurers, HDFC Life recorded the highest growth of 83% in March 2023 to Rs 5,805 crore, and Max Life grew 43% to Rs 1,987 crore. Tata AIA Life grew by 88% to Rs 1,964 crore, while SBI Life reported a premium income of Rs 3,503 crore for March 2023, an increase of 23% over the previous year. Shares of life companies closed lower despite the jump in business numbers — HDFC Life fell 3%, while SBI Life slipped 2%.
