With asset base of `52.85 lakh crore and multi-crore life fund, LIC reigns over the insurance sector

At present, LIC has eight zonal offices, 113 divisional offices, 74 customer zones, 2048 branch offices, 1584 satellite offices, 98,661 employees and a strong field force of over 14 lakh agents

Having started on a modest note with just Rs five crore in 1956, to commanding an overwhelming asset base of Rs. 52.85 lakh crore and a life fund of Rs. 44.31 lakh crore, the Life Insurance of India (LIC) has come a long way in its 68 years since inception.

It is so deeply is so firmly ensconced in the people’s mindset that even after liberalisation of the insurance sector over two decades back, LIC has sustained its leadership position in the market with a staggering 69.91 per cent market share in policies and 58.87 per cent market share in first-year premium income in the financial year 2023-24. The total premium income was Rs. 4.75 lakh crore with an increase of 0.22 per cent over the previous year.

The overall AUM increased by 16.48 per cent to Rs. 51.21 lakh crore and solvency margin improved to 1.98. There has been significant increase in the Indian Embedded Value (IEV) from Rs. 5.82 lakh crore as at 31.03.2023 to Rs. 7.27 lakh crore as on 31.03.2024, which is a 24.92 per cent increase.

Also the share of non-participating business in Annualized Premium Equivalent (APE) under individual category increased to 18.32 per cent from 7.12 per cent during the year 2022 and 8.89 per cent in 2023, due to a conscious paradigm shift in approach.

“We have also registered a growth in our Net Value of New Business (VNB) which stands at Rs. 9,583 crore compared to Rs. 9,156 crore the previous year. On similar lines, net VNB margin also increased to 16.8 per cent from 16.2 per cent,” said a top LIC official.

At present, LIC has eight zonal offices, 113 divisional offices, 74 customer zones, 2048 branch offices, 1584 satellite offices, 98,661 employees and a strong field force of over 14 lakh agents. The customer zones ensure effective functioning at help desk.

The Life Insurance Corporation of India offers a comprehensive portfolio of 41 individual products, 12 group products seven individual riders and one group rider designed to cater to the diverse needs of every segment of society, such as Endowment Insurance, Term Insurance, Child Insurance, Annuity Plans, Group Insurance, Micro Insurance, Health and Unit Linked products, each of which is also available online.

During the FY 2023-24, the total number of claims settled has been 221.80 lakh amounting to Rs. 2.30 lakh crore (individual, micro insurance and P&GS). The percentage of maturity claims paid stands at 93.48 and death claim paid is 98.35.

As part of its community service initiatives, it floated LIC’s Golden Jubilee Foundation (GJF) in 2006. During the year 2023-24, GJF sponsored 116 projects, disbursed Rs. 33.82 crore and sanctioned 9616 scholarships to the overall tune of Rs. 10.20 crore.

To keep with the changing times, LIC proactively embraced digital transformation by launching online platforms and applications such as LIC Digital App, to meet the evolving needs of today’s tech-savvy population. It embraced the journey by going from physical to digital by introducing a slew of services for the convenience of customers, field force and employees.

LIC’s customer portal and digital mobile app, digital channel for collections, in-house core insurance package, fully digitalized internal operations along with EDMS to facilitate servicing and information delivery to the customers.

Online service request modules enable submission and fulfilment of various customer servicing requests.

“We have already rolled out our prestigious project called Digital Innovation and Value Enhancement (DIVE). This will cut across the entire value chain and enhance the digital experience of all our stakeholders from on boarding to claim settlement,” the official said.