ICICI Prudential has pipped SBI Life to recover the top location among private insurance players, garnering new business worth Rs 303 crore as 1st year premium in April this year.
ICICI Prudential collected Rs 303 crore as first-year premium in the first month of the present financial, compared to Rs 135 crore in the equivalent month last year, according to monthly data released by IRDA.
On the other hand, SBI Life, promoted by the country's biggest lender, State Bank of India, earned a first-year premium value Rs 185 crore compared to Rs 460 crore a year in the past.
In 2009-10, SBI Life emerged as the largest player. The insurer collected Rs 7,041 crore as first-year premium, while ICICI Prudential managed to wash up an Rs 6,334 crore premium in the last financial.
Overall, in April this year, the life insurance industry registered a increase of 60(%) per cent in new business compared to the corresponding month previous year.
The 23 life insurers communally mopped up a first-year premium of Rs 5,746 crore in April next to Rs 3,601 crore in the same month of the previous year.
The growth is important, as there is turf war between market regulator SEBI and insurance watchdog IRDA over regulation of ULIP products, which account for more than half of the total business of life insurance companies.
The difference between SEBI and IRDA arise when the previous banned 14 life insurers from raising money from market-linked insurance schemes (ULIPs) in April, following which the last asked the companies to ignore the order.
Subsequently, the Finance Ministry intervened and the two regulators decided to equally seek a legally compulsory mandate from the court as to who has jurisdiction over ULIPs.
Till then, position quo ante was restored by the Finance Ministry.
After the agreement, SEBI amended its order and banned only new ULIPs launched after April 9, when the first order of SEBI was issued.
In April this year, the biggest insurer Life Insurance Corporation's first year premium stand at Rs 4,173 crore, compared to Rs 2,113 crore in the matching month last year, translating into a growth of around 100(%) per cent.
The market share of LIC has also increased to above 72(%) per cent throughout the month, compared to around 58(%) per cent in the same period of the previous year.
In the first month of the current financial, the 22 private insurers together could mop up first-year premium of just Rs 1,572 crore, compared to Rs 1,488 crore in the year-ago, time, translating into a increase of over 5(%) per cent.
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