India’s life insurers post 14.8% rise in new premiums in September

This marks a rebound from the 5.2% decline seen in August.

India’s life insurance industry recorded a 14.8% year-on-year increase in new business premiums in September 2025, reaching $4.42b (₹40,206.7 crore).

This marks a rebound from the 5.2% decline seen in August and slightly exceeds the 14.0% growth recorded in September 2024.

The increase was driven mainly by strong growth in the group business, particularly in the single premium segment, which offset weaker individual premiums. 

The industry also benefited from a favourable base effect and recent reductions in GST.

According to CareEdge Ratings, annual premium equivalent (APE) growth moderated to 5.2% in September from 6.6% in August, remaining below last year’s levels.

Sanjay Agarwal, senior director at CareEdge Ratings, said that whilst growth was modest, the GST waiver on individual life and health insurance premiums helped lift sales momentum toward the end of the month.

He added that the industry is showing early signs of recovery, supported by regulatory reforms, product innovation, digitalisation, and more efficient distribution.

Saurabh Bhalerao, associate director at CareEdge Ratings, noted that individual non-single premium policies continued to decline due to the base effect and surrender value regulations but are expected to stabilise in the coming months.

He said private insurers have managed to offset lower policy volumes by raising premiums per policy.

For the first half of the fiscal year, industry premiums rose 7.6% to $22.33b (₹2.03 lakh crore), up from $20.79b (₹1.89 lakh crore) a year earlier.

CareEdge expects a gradual recovery through fiscal year 2026, supported by private insurers’ geographic expansion and the rollout of the Bima Trinity initiative, including the Bima Sugam digital marketplace, which aims to enhance insurance penetration and sustain long-term growth.

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