The Indian government has dismissed concerns that the use of E20 fuel could affect the validity of vehicle insurance policies, stating that the ethanol blending programme remains safe, consumer-friendly, and economically beneficial.
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.
Major life insurers in India reported close to double-digit growth in the value of new business (VNB) last financial year, primarily driven by increased sales of high-margin protection and non-participating (non-par) products.
This will not affect the tax exemption provided to the amount received on the death of a person insured. It will also not affect insurance policies issued till March 31, 2023
High-value insurance policies experienced muted growth in the first six months of the current financial year after the Centre decided to tax such products in this year's Budget. Simultaneously, there has been a marked improvement in the growth of policies with premiums of 'less than Rs 5 lakh', mainly originating from smaller cities. During this year's Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed that insurance policies (excluding unit linked insurance plans or ULIPs) with an aggregate premium exceeding Rs 5 lakh, and the maturity amount, would not be exempt from tax.
"Policy sales will be one of the focus areas for the company because looking at the large insurance gap, large number of people being uncovered. The only right way to go is to increase the number of policies," said Amit Jhingran, MD & CEO, SBI Life Insurance.
Buoyancy in the equity market and the soft interest rate regime have prompted insurers like the LIC to focus on unit-linked products that provide life cover as well as tax benefits and capital appreciation to investors.
Buy from an established agent rather than a novice who may not be around when you need his assistance.
Use these loans to meet emergency needs, and not to fund holidays or luxury purchases.
You can exit Ulips after five years.
Allowing it to lapse leaves you unprotected and can, in some cases, cause loss of premiums paid, experts tell Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Young buyers often underestimate future health risks.
Your entire contribution can go down the drain if policies are not renewed on time
The share of life insurance policies sold by top private insurers in the rural areas declined in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) compared to previous year. SBI Life, HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance -- the top three players from the private sector-- have seen the share of insurance policies sold in rural areas drop in FY24 as compared to the previous financial year. Max Life Insurance's share of rural policies recorded an increase in FY24.
Either you are buying insurance policy online or through an agent, getting a better understanding about it will always be beneficial for you, says Harjot Singh Narula
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked life insurance companies not to advertise unit-linked plans as investment products in a recent circular.
Recent years have been turbulent for the insurance industry due to direct and indirect tax reforms, regulatory overhaul and other external pressures. The events cumulatively slowed growth rate to single digits from the high teens seen earlier.
They want to take advantage of the few days remaining before the IRDA's new guidelines on Ulips come into force. What has also added to the rush is the fall in the sale of big-ticket, single-premium covers and Ulips in the current financial year as individuals are holding on to big-ticket purchases, especially where the returns are linked to the equity markets. For insurers, big-ticket policies mean a lower lapse rate and it translates into higher commission for agents.
Life insurers shifted their focus to selling high-value policies in October as the transition to new surrender value norms, effective October 1, limited their ability to roll out all products in their portfolio. This led to a 40 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) drop in the number of policies sold in October. Additionally, distributors engaged in a fire sale of policies in September due to uncertainty about the impact of the new norms on their commission structures.
Young investors with a higher risk appetite are better off with a combination of term insurance and equity funds.
Many life insurance companies are yet to see a sharp spike in the sale of high-value policies as was widely expected in the aftermath of the government's decision to tax income from insurance policies having an aggregate premium above Rs 5 lakh in a year.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has proposed a 20-point policy agenda to the finance ministry, including a conflict-linked emergency credit line guarantee scheme and tax rationalisation on energy inputs, to support MSMEs, exporters, and energy-intensive industries affected by the ongoing West Asia war.
'LIC will reduce but not fully exit its stake in IDBI Bank, which remains an important bancassurance partner,' says LIC of India' MD and CEO R Doraiswamy.
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have been fiscally stressed for a considerable period of time, and there are no easy ways to mobilise revenues to meet the cost of the promised freebies, particularly in the prevailing difficult economic scenario, points out M Govinda Rao.
The National Commission noted that if the policyholder wanted reinstatement, he should have made a written request and should have also cleared the premium till that date, but no such request had been made.
Surrendering a ULIP after having paid the premiums for the first three years may be an unwise option.
>You can buy a life insurance policy for someone else only if you have an insurable interest or expect financial loss from that person's death, points out Tarun Chugh, MD and CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, answering insurance questions.
The new regulations will allow the insurers to charge an extra premium from policyholders who wish to buy riders with unit-linked insurance plans.
While these two are important, there are other risks such as loan repayment and retirement that you need to insure.
Though agents promote Ulips instead of term policies, the latter make more sense for pure insurance purposes.
An individual can avail tax deduction on the amount spent during the year on a deferred annuity for self, spouse, or child.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'They take care of the problem: How can I ensure my child's education and other goals are not compromised, even if I am not around?'
The United States, which entered this war in expectation of a short, sharp win along the Venezuela model, is now preparing for deeper involvement in a conflict it does not fully control, without the allies it typically relies on, against an adversary that is not behaving as expected, in a global environment that is already absorbing economic shock. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
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.
The growth in new business premium for private sector players slowed down to 53.6 per cent y-o-y for March 2008 compared with 90.5 per cent y-o-y for the period beween April 2007 and February 2008. That dragged down the growth for the full year of 2007-08 to 83.7 per cent from 103.8 per cent in the prvious year. The slowdown was more marked for public sector Life Insurance Corporation.
