New business premiums of life insurance companies dropped 5.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in August to Rs 30,959 crore, owing to a double-digit decline reported by state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), data from the Life Insurance Council showed. LIC recorded a 17 per cent YoY fall in new business premiums to Rs 16,023 crore during the month, while private life insurers reported a 12 per cent YoY increase to Rs 14,936 crore.
This marks the strongest DRHP filing tally since 1996, when 428 firms sought to enter India's equity markets.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The factor fund launch spree by mutual funds (MFs) is moving from the passive to the active space. Two new fund offerings (NFOs) - ICICI Pru Active Momentum Fund and Bandhan Multi-Factor Fund - are currently open for subscription. Sundaram MF's multi-factor fund NFO closed this Wednesday.
Passive funds appeal to investors seeking to avoid the risk of underperformance by the fund manager and minimise the need for frequent chopping and changing of funds.
The data for individual weighted received premium (WRP) showed divergent trends for life insurers in December 2024. Overall, the industry's individual WRP grew 4.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y); LIC's individual WRP declined 13 per cent while private players saw 11.4 per cent growth.
'Allocating 5 to 10 per cent of one's portfolio and staying disciplined through market cycles helps in having a positive investment experience.'
Federal Bank on Thursday said the Reserve Bank of India has accorded approval to ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd () for acquiring up to 9.95 per cent stake in the bank. RBI accorded the approval subject to conditions on Thursday, Federal Bank said in a regulatory filing.
The top 20 fund houses held 6.8 per cent of their portfolios in cash as of May 31, down from a record high of 7.2 per cent in April 2025.
'Investing in these funds makes sense if their net yield over better-quality funds -- corporate bond funds or banking and PSU funds -- is meaningful.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
New investors should avoid short-term, tactical entries and instead go for staggered buying via ETFs to manage volatility.
The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
More than a third of 83 mainboard IPOs this year ended their debut sessions in the red, with losses of up to 35 per cent.
'A staggered investment approach (using SIP or STP) can help investors benefit from this opportunity while reducing timing risk.'
The 13th-month persistency rate of life insurers - an important metric indicating the retention of new policies - declined in the first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26). This fall was primarily driven by a lower share of high-value policies, following taxation changes implemented in April 2023.
Young investors with a higher risk appetite are better off with a combination of term insurance and equity funds.
Sources said that this is a contingency plan, in the event of an exit of the present heads of its two subsidiaries ICICI Prudential and ICICI Ventures. At present, Shikha Sharma is managing director & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, while Renuka Ramanathan is managing director and CEO of ICICI Ventures.
'If through growth and serving the customer we become number one, we will be very happy and very proud.'
The 100-stock largecap basket of Mutual funds (MFs) has seen a major reshuffle in the latest semi-annual reclassification with seven midcap stocks and four new listings earning the largecap tag. According to a report from Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research, the midcap stocks that have been upgraded include CG Power, Rail Vikas Nigam, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Polycab India, Indus Towers, Cummins India, and Info Edge.
Prudential, the leading international financial services company, would hire at least 10,000 new staff in India this year for its joint venture insurance operation.
Some of the key names include: Maruti, M&M, Ashok Leyland, Britannia, Ultratech, JK Cement, Havells, Voltas, Amber, Metro, Trent, LemonTree, Indian Hotels, Niva Bupa, HDFC Life, IGL, Acme Solar, Suzlon, Swiggy, Delhivery, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance," according to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Gautam Adani-owned Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) will replace IT major Wipro in the 30-share BSE Sensex from June 24, according to an official announcement on Friday. This marks the first inclusion of any Adani Group firm in Sensex. The group has 10 listed firms with a combined market valuation surpassing Rs 17 lakh crore.
Biometric cards contain the details of policyholders such as name, age, address and finger prints. Besides helping the customers to pay their renewal premiums, the card will facilitate claim processing. It authorises transactions based on the customer's fingerprints.
Leading private financial players HSBC and ICICI Prudential along with country's largest bank SBI have been shortlisted to manage about Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) in provident fund of about four crore employees annually.
Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company the investment manager to India's largest private sector mutual fund launched an innovative product, the Pru ICICI Advisor Series.
Biocon has tied up with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to market its insulin, Insugen. Accordingly, the company will offer insulin at a subsidised rate to all 'diabetic care' insurance policyholders of the insurance company.
AUM heavyweights SBI, HDFC and ICICI Pru flex muscle, adding Rs 2 trillion+ each.
In a bid to tap the growing potential of mutual fund business in the country, ICICI Bank has decided to raise its stake in Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company to 51 per cent, by buying out six per cent stake from Prudential Plc.
"There is a large workforce working as agents for life insurance companies and other banking and financial products who require specialised training as financial advisers," ICICI Prudential AMC, head -- retail sales and distribution, Vikram Kaushal said. Of the estimated 68,000 financial advisers available in the country, almost 38,000 are working for ICICI Prudential, he said.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Many high-profile IPOs in India since 2021 have destroyed investor wealth due to overvaluation, weak business models, and post-listing disinterest, turning 1 lakh investments into as little as 3,500.
Kochhar retires by rotation, and being eligible, has offered herself for reappointment as director, said the broking arm in a notice for its Annual General Meeting to be held on August 30
State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender in the country, has launched a share sale to institutional investors to raise upto Rs 25,000 crore, the biggest qualified institutional placement (QIP) so far by an Indian firm, and has set a floor price of Rs 811.05, which is at a 2.5 per cent discount on Wednesday's closing price.
The insurer is a venture between banking major ICICI Bank and the UK's Prudential Corporation Holdings. Singapore's Temasek and Premji Invest are also the shareholders.
The top three mutual funds (MFs) paid out 10-18 per cent higher commissions to distributors during the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) compared to FY22 as a sustained rise in flows from the systematic investment plan (SIP) route boosted distributors' share in the assets under management (AUM), according to an analysis of the disclosures by the top three fund houses. State Bank of India (SBI) MF saw its commission payout go up 18 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,675 crore. The payouts rose 10 per cent and 15 per cent for ICICI Prudential MF and HDFC MF, respectively.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Do you have financial planning or income tax queries? Ask rediffGURU Anil Rego.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances