Best's Rankings: Life Insurance Corporation of India Tops List of Nation's Largest Insurers
OLDWICK, N.J. //BestWire// - Life Insurance Corporation of India was the largest insurer in that nation in 2023 ranked by gross premium written, according to a new Best's Rankings report.
LIC reported a dominant GPW of $57.09 billion for the full year of 2023 and capital and surplus of $9.83 billion, according to the ranking.
Life insurers in the nation of more than 1.4 billion people, the world's most-populous country, dominated the rankings and took all but one spot among the top five insurers.
Taking second place was SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. with a GPW of $9.77 billion, along with capital and surplus of $1.79 billion, according to the data. In third place was HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd. with GPW of $7.57 billion in 2023 and capital and surplus of $1.76 billion.
Fourth-place Kshema General Insurance Co. Ltd. focuses on crop overage and was the only nonlife carrier among the top five. The company had 2023 GPW of $6.82 billion and capital and surplus of $1.8 billion, according to the data.
Rounding out the top five was CICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd., which posted GPW of $5.19 billion in 2023 and capital and surplus of $1.32 billion.
AM Best on Jan. 16 maintained a stable outlook on India's nonlife sector, citing robust growth prospects it said were driven by regulatory initiative and rising demand for insurance products.
The report also said favorable investment returns supported by elevated interest rates and equity market gains were another positive indicator. It pointed to increased regulatory oversight to support cost management despite near-term headwinds as another strong point for India's non-life market.
Moderating factors include persistent underwriting losses, which the report said highlight market challenges, along with underwriting discipline that is tested by the recent liberalization of policy wordings.
"India's long-term economic growth is expected to benefit the nonlife segment," the Best's Market Segment Report said. "India's economy grew 8.2% in FY 2024 owing to government spending on infrastructure and increased household consumption. Signs of an economic slowdown have emerged recently, but monetary and fiscal policies are expected to support future economic growth."
The one−page AM Best ranking measured gross premiums written for 2023, as well as capital and surplus.
Subscribers can access the report and data here.
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(By Terrence Dopp, senior associate editor, Best’s Review: Terry.Dopp@ambest.com)