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India’s LIC June-quarter premium income jumps as policy sales rebound

India’s LIC June-quarter premium income jumps as policy sales rebound

A security guard walks past logos of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) inside the BSE building in Mumbai, India, May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Niharika KulkarniRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comRegisterBENGALURU, Aug 12 (Reuters) – Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) (LIFI.NS) reported a 20.4% rise in June-quarter premium income on Friday, as easing COVID-19 restrictions boosted sales of policies for the insurer that largely depends on its agents.The company, which drives its business mostly through an army of 1.3 million sales agents, was hit by pandemic-led lockdowns last year that disrupted the work of its agents who focus on in-person engagement.”As the COVID situation normalises, we are seeing a larger activity on the ground, therefore bringing us back closer to our model of having ‘feet on street’,” Chairperson M R Kumar said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comRegisterLIC, India’s biggest insurer, said net premium income rose to 983.52 billion rupees ($12.34 billion) from 817.21 billion rupees a year earlier, with nearly a 60% jump in the number of policies sold.The company’s gross value of new business (VNB), which measures expected profit from new premiums and is a key gauge for future growth, stood at 18.61 billion rupees, while VNB margins came in at 13.6%.We don’t see much market volatility going forward that could impact results, Kumar said in a press briefing, adding that the insurer sees VNB margin at over 15% by the end of the year.The company, synonymous with buying protection policies in India, listed in May following a record $2.7 billion initial public offering. It commands a market share of over 60% in terms of overall premiums.LIC’s profit for the three months ended June 30 stood at 6.83 billion rupees, compared with 29.4 million rupees in the COVID-hit quarter a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.Shares of LIC have fallen about 22% since its May listing, compared to a 23% rise in no. 2 rival SBI Life Insurance (SBIL.NS) over the same period.($1 = 79.6830 Indian rupees)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comRegisterReporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru and Nupur Anand in Mumbai; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. .

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Insurer LIC opens subscriptions for $2.7 bln IPO, India’s largest

Insurer LIC opens subscriptions for $2.7 bln IPO, India’s largest

MUMBAI, May 4 (Reuters) – State-owned Life Insurance Corp’s (LIC) $2.7 billion IPO, India’s largest, opened to subscriptions from retail and other investors on Wednesday following strong demand from anchor investors led by domestic mutual funds.The Indian government expects to raise the sum, just a third of its original target, from selling a 3.5% stake in the country’s top insurance company, giving it an initial value of $78.52 billion. read more The subscription, set to close on May 9, will offer a discount to employees and retail investors of 45 rupees per share. LIC policyholders will be offered a discount of 60 rupees per share.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comRegisterThe price range for the issue has been set between 902 rupees and 949 rupees per share.After a reservation for employees and policyholders, the remaining shares will be allocated in a ratio of 50% to qualified institutional buyers, 35% to retail investors and 15% for non-institutional investors.The final IPO price will be determined after the subscription closes.LIC shares were trading in the “grey” market at a premium of 95 rupees, at around 1,044 rupees apiece.To drum up demand from retail investors, in addition to heavy advertising in local newspapers, some 1.2 million field agents were dispatched across India to woo many of LIC’s more than 250 million policyholders to buy the shares.Policyholders were also flooded with text messages earlier this year recommending they open an electronic stock holding account early so they can take part in the IPO. read more The 59.3 million shares set aside for anchor investors were subscribed at 949 rupees apiece. Norwegian wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management and the government of Singapore joined the anchor book, along with several domestic mutual funds. read more The government had initially wanted to list LIC in the financial year that ended March 31 but chose to delay the sale after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate tightening triggered a market rout.The 66-year-old company dominates India’s insurance sector, with more than 280 million policies. It was the fifth-biggest global insurer in terms of insurance premium collection in 2020, the latest year for which statistics are available.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comRegisterReporting by Nupur Anand Editing by Jamie Freed and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. .