According to the latest data released by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the annualized premium equivalent (APE) for the life insurance industry fell (for the third consecutive month) by 19.6% year on year (yoy) in January 2009. The decline in the APE was more pronounced in case of the private players at 22.5% yoy.
Birla Sunlife and Reliance Life posted an increase of 33.2% yoy and 18.2% yoy respectively in their APE. ICICI Prudential lost significant market share YoY from 27.3% to 21.6% [Don’t you think this was expected with the brand ICICI taking a reputation knock] Bajaj Allianz has also lost market share YoY from 20.5% to 13.2%.
Reliance Life and SBI Life have emerged as the new leaders with market share of 9.9% and 14.8% at the end of Jan 2009. The following Pie-Chart shows market share of all the private Life Insurance Companies operating in India.