Life Insurance-India
The life insurance industry recorded a premium income of Rs.82854.80 Crore during the financial year 2004-05 as against Rs.66653.75 Crore in the previous financial year, recording a growth of 24.31 per cent. The contribution of first year premium, single premium and renewal premium to the total premium was Rs.15881.33 Crore (19.16 per cent); Rs.10336.30 Crore (12.47 per cent); and Rs.56637.16 Crore (68.36 percent), respectively. In the year2000-01, when the industry was opened up to the private players, the life insurance premium was Rs.34,898.48 Crore which constituted of Rs. 6996.95 Crore of first year premium, Rs. 25191.07 Crore of renewal premium and Rs. 2740.45 Crore of single premium. Post opening up, single premium had declined from Rs.9,194.07 Crore in the year 2001-02 to Rs.5674.14 Crore in 2002-03 with the withdrawal of the guaranteed return policies. Though it went up marginally in 2003-04 to Rs.5936.50 Crore (4.62 per cent growth) 2004-05, however, witnessed a significant shift with the single premium income raising to Rs. 10336.30 Crore showing 74.11 per cent growth over 2003-04.
PREMIUM UNDERWRITTEN BY LIFE INSURERS
(Rs. lakh)
Insurer | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
|
| First year premium including Single premium | |
| LIC* | 1734761.74 | 2065306.36 |
|
| (6.34) | (19.05) |
| Private Sector | 244070.58 | 556457.34 |
|
| (152.74) | (127.99) |
| Total | 1978832.32 | 2621763.70 |
|
| (14.68) | (32.49) |
|
| Renewal Premium | |
| LIC | 4618580.96 | 5447422.62 |
|
| (19.47) | (17.95) |
| Private Sector | 67962.05 | 216293.48 |
|
| (343.12) | (218.26) |
| Total | 4686543.01 | 5663716.10 |
|
| (20.75) | (20.85) |
|
| Total Premium | |
| LIC | 6353342.70 | 7512728.98 |
|
| (15.63) | (18.25) |
| Private Sector | 312032.63 | 772750.82 |
|
| (178.83) | (147.65) |
| Total | 6665375.33 | 8285479.80 |
|
| (18.91) | (24.31) |
Note: Figures in brackets indicate the growth (in per cent)
* includes the investment component under unit linked products
The life insurance industry underwrote first year premium (inclusive of single premium) of Rs.26217.64 during 2004-05 as against Rs. 19788.32 Crore in 2003-04. The industry clocked a growth of 32.49 per cent driven by a significant jump in unit-linked business. Interestingly, the growth in the first year premium (other than single premium) came on the policies issued by the private insurers with a growth rate of 106.46 per cent as against a negative growth exhibited by LIC at 1.25 per cent. As against this, the private insurers and LIC reported single premium growth of 239.46 per cent and 62.32 percent, respectively.
The size of life insurance market increased on the strength of growth in the economy and concomitant increase in per capita income. This resulted in a favourable growth in total premium both for LIC (18.25 per cent) and to the new insurers (147.65 per cent) in 2004-05. The higher growth for the new insurers is to be viewed in the context of a low base in 2003-04. However, the new insurers have improved their market share from 4.68 in 2003-04 to 9.33 in 2004-05. (Table 4)
MARKET SHARE OF LIFE INSURERS
(In percent)
Insurer | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
|
| First year premium including Single premium | |
| LIC | 87.67 | 78.78 |
| Private Sector | 12.33 | 21.22 |
| Total | 100.00 | 100.00 |
|
| Renewal Premium | |
| LIC | 98.55 | 96.18 |
| Private Sector | 1.45 | 3.82 |
| Total | 100.00 | 100.00 |
|
| Total Premium | |
| LIC | 95.32 | 90.67 |
| Private Sector | 4.68 | 9.33 |
| Total | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Segregation of the first year premium underwritten during 2004-05 indicates that Life, Annuity, Pension and Health contributed 77.27; 6.7; 15.55 and 0.47 percent respectively to the first year premium. As against this, 81.68; 8.62; 8.97 and 0.72 per cent was respectively underwritten in the above segments in 2003-04. There is a slow but clear shift towards pension business.
New policies underwritten by the industry were 262.11 lakh during 2004-05 showing a decline of 8.44 per cent against 2003-04. Prior to this, in the year 2003-04, the number of new policies underwritten had increased to 286.27 lakh as against 253.70 lakh in 2002-03, exhibiting an increase of 12.83 per cent. While the private insurers exhibited a growth of 34.62 percent, LIC showed a negative growth of 11.09 per cent. The market share of the private insurers and LIC, in terms of policies underwritten, was 8.52 per cent and 91.48 per cent as against 5.79 per cent and 94.21 per cent respectively in 2003-04.
NEW POLICIES ISSUED: LIFE INSURERS
| Insurer | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| Private Sector | 1658847 | 2233075 |
|
| (5.79) | (8.52) |
| LIC | 26968069 | 23978123 |
|
| (94.21) | (91.48) |
| Total | 28626916 | 26211198 |
Note: Figures in brackets indicate the ratio (in per cent) of respective insurer
The increase in the renewal premium is a good measure of the quality of the business underwritten by the insurers. It reflects the increase in their persistency ratio and enables insurers to bring down overall cost of doing business. The renewal premium underwritten by the private insurers during 2004-05 reflects that some of the insurers have shown a healthy growth. The average for the private insurers, examined in the context of the renewal premium to the first year premium underwritten (excluding single premium), shows an increase to 68.67 as against 61.56 in 2003-04 and a mere 32.88 in 2002-03.
Analysis of the first year premium in terms of linked and non-linked premium reflects that linked products continued to dominate in 2004-05. LIC, the public sector insurer, too underwrote significant business in this line. While premium underwritten under the linked categories grew by 422.19 per cent, the non-linked premium was almost static with growth of just 0.028 per cent. The linked and non linked business accounted for 32.54 per cent and 67.46 per cent respectively in the year 2004-05, as against 8.46 and 91.54 per cent in 2003-04.
The non-linked and linked new business premium underwritten by LIC in 2004-05 was 78.31 per cent and 21.69 per cent as against 97.70 per cent and 2.29 per cent in 2003-04. In case of private insurers, the percentages were 28.72 and 71.28 in 2004-05 as against 50.18 and 49.82 per cent respectively in the previous year. The data clearly reflects LIC's decision to drive its premium growth on the strength of unit linked products. The Group business has also witnessed some churning as the market has become more competitive. This has been true for the term business also. Today, Group products are offered by all the life insurers.
Innovations in the products
With the demographic changes and changing life styles, the demand for insurance cover has also evolved taking into consideration the needs of prospective policyholder for packaged products. There have been innovations in the types of products developed by the insurers, which are relevant to the people of different age groups, and suit their requirements. Continued innovations in product development has resulted in a wide range of flexible products to meet the requirements for cover at different stages of life -today a variety of products are available ranging from traditional to Unit linked providing protection towards child, endowment, capital guarantee, pension and group solutions. A number of new products have been introduced in the life segment with guaranteed additions, which were subsequently withdrawn/toned down; single premium mode has been popularized; unit linked products; and add-on/riders including accidental death; dismemberment, critical illness, fixed term assurance risk cover, group hospital and surgical treatment, hospital cash benefits, etc. Comprehensive packaged products have been popularized with features of endowment, money back, whole life, single premium, regular premium, rebate in premium for higher sum assured, premium mode rebate, etc., together with riders to the base products.
Expenses of the life insurers
Section 40 B of the Insurance Act provides that no insurer shall in respect of life insurance business transacted by him in India, spend as expenses of management in excess of the prescribed limits. The expense of management includes all commission payments and any amounts of capitalized expenses. The Insurance Rules further lay down the manner of computation of the prescribed limits. A major expense head for the life insurers is commission. As against the industry average of 23.96 per cent (24.71 per cent in 2003-04), LIC incurred an expense of 26.23 per cent (25.79 per cent in 2003-04) towards commission on first year premium. The average for the private insurers worked out to 17.69 (18.47 per cent in 2003-04). The commissions paid by LIC towards the single premium were 0.60 per cent as against the average of the private players at 0.98 per cent. The industry average was 0.65 per cent. Perhaps an increasingly competitive market has caused an upward shift in the commissions paid by some basis points. In case of LIC during 2003-04, it was 0.52 per cent. The average commission paid on renewal premium by the new insurers averaged 4.36 per cent as against LIC's 5.68 per cent. The total pay out by the life insurance industry because of commissions in 2004-05 stood at Rs.7057.96 Crore as against Rs.6158.33 Crore in 2003-04. The lower commissions for the new insurers perhaps emanates from the fact that they are exploring a number of alternate channels to underwrite business. In addition, LIC has a major market share in traditional lines of business, which attracts higher commissions. While an overall trend can be drawn from these percentages, given the fact that the insurance industry markets a whole range of products, a true reflection of the commissions paid would be reflected from the segment wise tracking of the commissions.
COMMISSION EXPENSES OF LIFE INSURERS
(Rs lakh)
| Insurer | First Year Commission | |
|
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| LIC | 307341.65 | 311161.18 |
| Private Sector | 38162.16 | 76036.99 |
| Total | 345503.81 | 387198.17 |
|
| Renewal Commission | |
| LIC | 266949.91 | 309162.08 |
| Private Sector | 3379.43 | 9435.64 |
| Total | 270329.34 | 318597.72 |
|
| Total Commission | |
| LIC | 574291.56 | 620323.26 |
| Private Sector | 41541.59 | 85472.63 |
| Total | 615833.15 | 705795.89 |
The management expenses of private insurers exhibited a mixed trend during 2004-05, with some insurers falling within the limits of allowable expenses. While six of the thirteen private sector insurers were within the permitted limits, two were marginally above the limits and two others were substantially higher than the limits laid down in the Act. In respect of one insurer, which had started operations only in the second half of 2004-05, the expenses of management were significantly higher than the premium underwritten. Expenses of management of LIC were well within the allowable limits as set out in the Insurance Act, 1938 and the Rule framed there under.
Alternate channels of distribution like bancassurance, direct marketing, internet, and telemarketing reduce costs and enable insurers to reach a wider customer base. While agency force remains the mainstay of most insurance companies, insurers are making efforts to explore new channels. Most companies have successfully tapped the bancassurance route both with commercial and cooperative banks. Insurers have also initiated on-line sale of policies. It is pertinent to note that the reduction in marketing costs would enable insurers to provide affordable insurance to low income households.
The operating expenses as a percent to gross premium underwritten, for the private insurers worked out to 28.84 per cent (44.95 in 2003-04). Major expense for the private insurers was employee expenses (inclusive of travel, etc.) at 39.24 per cent (37.87 per cent in 2003-04); training expenses (including agents' training and seminars) at 6.96 per cent (7.65 per cent in 2003-04); advertisement and publicity at 11.31 per cent (13.84 in 2003-04; and depreciation expenses 6.15 per cent (7.11 in 2003-04). In the case of LIC, the operating expenses constitute 8.31 per cent of gross premium.
OPERATING EXPENSES OF LIFE INSURERS
|
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| Insurer |
|
|
| LIC | 518649.79 | 624126.11 |
| Private Sector | 140244.38 | 222946.80 |
| Total | 658894.17 | 847072.91 |
Its major expenses are those incurred towards employee remuneration & welfare benefits (72 per cent), and expenses relating to recruitment of agents (8 per cent). In comparison, employee expenses comprised 35 per cent of the total operating expenses of the private sector insurers - reflecting that while their pay packages are more competitive the private insurers can certainly take pride in having leaner organizational structures.
PAID UP CAPITAL: LIFE INSURERS
(Rs. Crore)
| Insurer | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| LIC | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| Private Sector | 3238.71 | 4347.81 |
| TOTAL | 3243.71 | 4352.81 |
Benefits Paid
The life industry paid gross benefits of Rs.28700.57 Crore in 2004-05 (Rs.24012.12 Crore in 2003-04) constituting 34.64 per cent of the premium underwritten, While it is still early for the new insurers to make significant payments towards claims, the benefits paid during the year were Rs.244.86 Crore (Rs.81.78 Crore in 2003-04), constituting 2.96 per cent of the premium underwritten by them. LIC paid benefits of Rs.28455.71 Crore (Rs.23930.34 Crore). Given that life insurers traditionally do not reinsure a significant component of their business, the benefits paid net of reinsurance by them were Rs.28668.97 Crore.
Retention Ratio
LIC traditionally re-insures only a small component of its business, and during the financial year 2004-05, LIC ceded Rs.42.95 Crore as premium to cover for re-insurance (Rs.38.31 Crore in 2003-04). Similarly, in the case of private insurers, only a small component of the business was reinsured, with Group business forming the major component. The private insurers ceded Rs.64.79 Crore as premium towards reinsurance as against Rs.32.54 Crore in 2003-04. It may be interesting to view this in the context of the fact that the risks pertaining to the investments component of the unit linked insurance products continue to be borne by the policyholders and a significant component of the new business premium underwritten by the industry in 2004-05 was towards unit linked products.
Investment income
As the operations of the life insurers stabilize, their investment base gets strengthened, resulting in investment income forming a significant component of their total income. 32.98 per cent of LIC's income was derived as returns from investments in 2004-05, as against 31.93 per cent in 2003-04. As against this, share of investment income for the new life insurers was 4.45 per cent in 2004-05, as against 7.86 per cent in the previous year. While in the case of LIC, contribution of investment income to total income has been around 32 per cent in the last three years, in respect of the private insurers the proportion has been steadily declining from 13.82 per cent in 2002-03.This can be attributed not only to the size of investable funds of the insurers being small but also that yields on investments have exhibited a declining trend on account of declining interest rates. As against this, LIC, which holds long duration securities in its portfolio, on an average, is yet to feel the full impact of the declining interest rates. On the flip side, as the private insurers increase their presence in the life insurance industry, their premium income has steadily increased thereby increasing the proportion of premium income to the total income. The investment income of the private insurers, inclusive of capital gains, was Rs.363.39 Crore in 2004-05 (Rs.267.59 Crore in 2003-04). Investment income of LIC for the year 2004-05 was Rs.37066.76 Crore (Rs.29855.86 Crore in 2003-04).
Profits of the life insurers
The life insurance industry, by its very nature is capital intensive, and insurers are required to inject capital at frequent intervals to achieve growth in premium income. Given the high rate of commissions payable in the first year, expenses towards setting up operations, training costs incurred towards developing the agency force, creating a niche for its products, achieving reasonable levels of persistency, providing for policy liabilities, and maintaining the solvency margin, make it difficult for the insurers to earn profits in the initial five to seven years of their operations. As such, none of the new insurers has been able to generate surplus on their Revenue Account. Further, most of these insurers have injected capital to bridge the deficits in the Revenue Account during 2004-05. The cumulative losses of the private insurers as on 31st March 2005 stood at Rs.2592.17 Crore as against Rs. 1679.51 Crore, i.e., an increase of 54.34 per cent over the previous year. These losses were funded through infusion of capital by both the Indian promoters and their foreign partners. The continued financial support through equity injections reflected the promoters' commitment in stabilizing the insurers' operations.
During 2004-05 insurers continued to declare bonus despite reporting deficit in the Revenue Account. It would be recalled that in 2003-04, recognizing the need of the new insurers to declare bonuses to maintain their competitive stance in the market, the Authority had permitted declaration of bonus despite non-availability of actuarial surplus. This was, however, permitted subject to compliance with the conditions imposed by the Authority.
STATUS OF COMPLAINTS- LIFE INSURERS (2004 - 05)
| SI. No. | Insurer | Reported during the year | Resolved during the year | Pending as on 31st March, 2005 |
| 1 | HDFC STD LIFE | 30 | 17 | 13 |
| 2 | AMP SANMAR | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | TATA AIG | 31 | 19 | 12 |
| 4 | MNYL | 18 | 8 | 10 |
| 5 | AVIVA | 16 | 5 | 11 |
| 6 | BSLI | 23 | 9 | 14 |
| 7 | SBI LIFE | 24 | 7 | 17 |
| 8 | ICICI PRU | 39 | 22 | 17 |
| 9 | MET LIFE | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | SAHARA LIFE | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | BAJAJ ALLIANZ | 30 | 4 | 26 |
| 12 | KOTAK LIFE | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| 13 | ING VYSYA | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| 14 | LIC | 1202 | 210 | 992 |
|
| TOTAL | 1433 | 308 | 1125 |
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