October saw a 12% increase in life insurers' new business premiums, with private companies leading the way.

In October 2025, the life insurance sector in India recorded a 12 percent year-over-year increase in new business premiums (NBP), driven primarily by private insurers. The Life Insurance Council's preliminary data shows that the total NBP collected in the month was Rs 34,006.95 crore, up from Rs 30,347.60 crore in October 2024. The cumulative NBP for the April–October quarter of FY26 increased from Rs 2.20 lakh crore to Rs 2.38 lakh crore, an 8.25 percent YoY increase. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which contributed Rs 19,274.01 crore to the total NBP in October—a 5.73 percent increase over Rs 17,131.09 crore a year earlier—maintained its top spot. The state-owned insurer's group single premium increased by 5.96 percent, while its individual single premium section increased by 7.53 percent. However, LIC's group annual renewable premium increased 85.46 percent YoY to Rs 144.65 crore, while its individual non-single premium decreased 6.49 percent. With 85.27 lakh policies issued through October compared to 97.60 lakh during the same period previous year, the company's insurance count decreased by 12.63 percent year-to-date (YTD). The overall premium for private insurers, on the other hand, increased by 12.10 percent year over year to Rs 14,732.94 crore from Rs 13,216.51 crore the previous year. Private life insurers' cumulative premium from April to October increased to Rs 97,392.92 crore from Rs 86,880.67 crore, a strong 12 percent YTD gain. With a 17.17 percent year-over-year increase in total premiums to Rs 3,185.01 crore, SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd. led the main private players thanks to growth in both the individual and group categories.