There are 23 IRDAI approved life insurance companies in India. Out of these 23, the Life Insurance Corporation of India or LIC is the only public sector insurer. A life insurance company is responsible for creating life insurance policies for its customers. It also handles all the life insurance claims and processes.
Before we find out about these life insurance companies in India, let us learn more about a life insurance policy and its variations.
What is life insurance policy?
A life insurance policy is an agreement or a contract between the policyholder and the life insurance company. The policyholder agrees to pay a premium to the insurance and the insurer agrees to settle the sum insured upon the death of the policyholder or the insured. In this way, the family of the deceased are financially stable even in their absence.
Certain life insurance companies do not cover death by suicide or accidental death under the influence of alcohol, etc. However, this depends upon the terms and conditions of the life insurer. In the market, there are different types of life insurance policies available. They are
- Term life insurance
- Endowment life insurance
- Whole life insurance
- Retirement plan
- Investments and savings plan
- Child insurance policy
- Unit Linked Insurance Plans - ULIP
- Money back policy
Before purchasing a life insurance plan, one has to check for the credibility of the insurer. It can be assessed using metrics like the claim settlement ratio of the life insurer and the solvency ratio.
Also read: Difference between health insurance and term insurance
Claim settlement ratio of life insurers
The claim settlement ratio of a life insurance company tells about the credibility of the life insurance company. It is defined as the percentage of the life insurance claims settled by the life insurance company during a particular financial year against the number of claims it has received along with the pending claims from the previous year.
The solvency ratio of life insurers:
The solvency ratio tells us how good or bad the insurance company's financial situation is. This shows if the insurer is financially strong or not to settle your claims. The formula of solvency ratio is Solvency Ratio = (Net Income + Depreciation)/Liabilities
According to the IRDAI guidelines the insurance companies have to maintain a solvency ratio of 150% to stay away from bankruptcy risks. Every year the solvency ratio of the life insurance company is mentioned in the IRDAI annual report.
Please note that the solvency ratio mentioned are as per the latest IRDAI annual report 2023.
Also read: EDLI Scheme
The List of life insurance companies in India
Here is the list of 22 life insurance companies in India. There were 24 companies but, Exide Life Insurance Co. has merged with HDFC Life Insurance Co and Sahara Life Insurance Company is merged with SBI Life Insurance Company.
1. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC India)
Life Insurance Corporation of India is the only public sector insurer on this list. It is the oldest insurance sector in India and was established in the year 1956. It is one of the largest insurance companies. LIC offers a variety of insurance solutions to its customers like insurance plans, pension plans, child insurance plans, and many more.
LIC claim settlement ratio: 97.79%
Solvency ratio of LIC 2024: 1.87 (March 2023)
2. HDFC Life Insurance Company
HDFC Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between HDFC Limited and Aberdeen plc (formerly Standard Life Aberdeen plc) a global investment company. It was established in the year 2000. It offers a wide range of individual and group insurance solutions to meet its customer's requirements.
HDFC life insurance claim settlement ratio: 99.04%
Solvency ratio 2023: 2.03 (March 2023)
3. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company
Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company was established in the year 2011. It is a joint venture between Edelweiss, a leading financial services company in India and Tokio Marine, a life insurance company in Japan. The company has around 116 branches throughout the country and has a diversified portfolio of life insurance products to cater to the needs of its customers.
Edelweiss Tokio life insurance claim settlement ratio: 95.82%
Solvency ratio 2023: 2.20 (March 2023)
4. Max Life Insurance Company
Max Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Max India Limited, a multi-business corporate and Axis Bank, an Indian banking and financial services company. Established in the year 2000, the company offers products like term insurance plans, ULIP plans, child plans, savings and income plans, etc.
Max life insurance claim settlement ratio: 99.20%
Solvency ratio 2023: 1.90 (March 2023)
5. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICIC bank, an Indian multinational bank and financial services company and Prudential Corporation Holdings Limited, a British multinational insurance company. It offers term insurance plans, savings plans, retirement plans, and many more. The company began its operations in the year 2001.
ICICI life insurance claim settlement ratio: 98.58%
Solvency ratio 2023: 2.09 (March 2023)
6. Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance offers around 14 life insurance plans and other group plans to cater for the needs of its customers. It is one of the fastest-growing insurance companies in India founded in the year 2001. It has around 232 branches insuring 34.8 million customers nationwide.
Kotak life insurance claim settlement ratio: 97.40%
Kotak life solvency ratio 2023: 2.83 (March 2023)
7. Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance
Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate and Sun Life Financial Inc, a Canadian financial services company. It commenced operations in the year 2001 and offers solutions like wealth protection plans, children's plans, term insurance plans, and many more.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance claim settlement ratio: 97.15%
Solvency ratio 2023: 1.73 (March 2023)
8. Tata AIA Life Insurance company
Tata AIA Life Insurance company is a joint venture between Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd, the principal holding company of the Tata Group and AIA Group Ltd, an American-founded Hong Kong multinational insurance and finance corporation. Term insurance, wealth solutions, retirement solutions, savings solutions, group solutions are some of the categories in which life insurance products are offered.
Tata AIA life insurance claim settlement ratio: 99.07%
Solvency ratio of TATA AIA 2023: 1.86 (March 2023)
9. SBI Life Insurance Company
SBI Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between the State Bank of India, an Indian multinational public sector bank and BNB Paribas Cardif, a French financial institution. It commenced operations in the year 2001 and offers life insurance plans like savings plans, term insurance plans, retirement solutions, etc.
SBI life insurance claim settlement ratio: 95.03%
Solvency ratio 2023: 2.15 (March 2023)
10. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited, an Indian non-banking financial services company and European financial services company Allianz SE. Its life insurance product offerings include ULIPs, term life insurance plans, child insurance plans, retirement plans, and many more.
Bajaj Allianz life insurance claim settlement ratio: 95.01%
Solvency ratio of Bajaj Allianz life insurance 2023: 5.16 (March 2023)
11. PNB MetLife India Insurance Company
PNB MetLife India Insurance Company offers life insurance solutions like child education solutions, long term savings plans, family protection plans, etc. The major shareholders of the company are MetLife International Holdings and Punjab National Bank. It has over 1800 corporate clients.
PNB MetLife India life insurance claim settlement ratio: 96.21%
Solvency ratio 2023: 1.86 (March 2023)
12. Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company
Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company, is a part of Reliance Capital, a private sector non-banking financial services company. The company offers life insurance products in different categories like protection plans, retirement plans, children plans and investment plans. It is one of the largest non-bank supported private life insurers in India.
Reliance Nippon life insurance claim settlement ratio: 97.71%
Solvency ratio 2023: 2.29 (March 2023)
13. Aviva Life Insurance Company
Aviva Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Aviva plc, a British assurance company and Dabur Group, an Indian conglomerate. It began its operations in the year 2002 and offers child insurance, term insurance, savings plans, and many more.
Aviva life insurance claim settlement ratio: 96.06%
Solvency ratio 2023: 1.84 (March 2023)
14. Sahara India Life Insurance Company
Sahara India Life Insurance Company got its insurance license from IRDAI in the year 2004. It was the first private sector life insurance company to launch in India without any foreign collaboration. It has a wide variety of life insurance plans like term insurance, endowment plans, ULIPs etc.
It has been merged with SBI Life Insurance Company.
15. Shriram Life Insurance Company
Shriram Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Shriram Group, an Indian conglomerate and a South African financial services company Sanlam. The products and services are designed in such a way that it reaches the common man. The company has been awarded for having India’s top 5 endowment policy.
Shriram life insurance claim settlement ratio: 85.30%
Solvency ratio 2023: 2.10 (March 2023)
16. Bharti Axa Life Insurance Company
Bharti Axa Life Insurance Company, is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, an Indian conglomerate and Axa Group, a French multinational insurance company. The company offers a variety of products in categories ranging from investment plans to life insurance plans.
Bharti Axa life insurance claim settlement ratio: 97.28%
Solvency ratio 2023: 1.63 (March 2023)
17. Future Generali India Life Insurance Company
Future Generali India Life Insurance Company is a private insurance company in India. It is a joint venture between Future Group, an Indian conglomerate and Generali Group, an Italian insurance company. It offers life insurance plans like health plans, retirement plans, term insurance plans, child plans, ULIPs etc.
Future Generali life insurance claim settlement ratio: 95.16%
Solvency ratio 2023: 1.96 (March 2023)
18. Ageas Federal Life Insurance Company
Ageas Federal Life Insurance Company offers life insurance plans like retirement plans, term plans, child plans, ULIPs, etc. The company is a joint venture between Federal Bank, one of India’s leading private sector banks and Ageas, a Belgian multinational insurance company.
Ageas Federal life insurance claim settlement ratio: 95.79%
Solvency ratio 2023: 3.24 (March 2023)
19. Aegon Life Insurance Company
Aegon Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between The Times Group, one of India’s largest media conglomerates and Aegon N.V, a Dutch multinational life insurance company. The company offers various individual and group life insurance plans to its customers.
Aegon life insurance claim settlement ratio: 96.45%
Aegon Life solvency ratio 2023: 2.75 (March 2023)
20. Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Company
Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Company offers around 4 online life insurance plans to its customers. Apart from that it also offers various term insurance plans, savings plans, tax savings plans, retirement plans, etc. The company was established in the year 2008 and it is a joint venture between Canara Bank of India and HSBC Insurance Holdings Limited (Asia Pacific).
Canara HSBC OBC life insurance claim settlement ratio: 94.04%
Solvency ratio 2023: 2.52 (March 2023)
21. Pramerica Life Insurance Company
Pramerica Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between DHFL Investments Limited, a subsidiary of Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Limited and Prudential International Insurance Holdings, a subsidiary of Prudential Financial. The company offers a wide variety of life insurance solutions to individuals and groups. They include child insurance plans, retirement solutions, savings and wealth creation plans, etc.
Pramerica life insurance claim settlement ratio: 98.42%
Solvency ratio 2023: 3.69 (March 2023)
22. Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company
Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between two of India's leading public sector banks, Union Bank of India and Bank of India, and Dai-ichi Life Holdings, a leading life insurance company in Japan. They cater to the needs of both individuals and groups. Under group plans, they offer term insurance plans, group rider plans etc. Under individual plans, they offer retirement plans, child insurance plans etc.
Star Union Dai-ichi life insurance claim settlement ratio: 96.74%
Solvency ratio 2023: 2.20 (March 2023)
23. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company is a joint venture of India's leading public sector banks Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India, and the UK's financial and investment company, Legal & General. They offer different types of life insurance plans like term plans, child insurance plans, micro-insurance plans, investment plans, retirement plans, and many more.
India First life insurance claim settlement ratio: 92.82%
Solvency ratio 2023: 2.18 (March 2023)
Solvency ratio of life insurance companies in India 2024
IRDAI released the annual report for 2022- 2023 that encompasses the solvency ratio of life insurers on December, 2023
Below is the latest solvency ratio of life insurers.
Name of the Life Insurer |
Solvency ratio 2022 |
Solvency ratio 2023 (Latest IRDAI Report) |
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC India) |
1.76 |
1.87 |
HDFC Life Insurance Company |
1.76 |
2.03 |
Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company |
2.11 |
2.20 |
Max Life Insurance Company |
2.01 |
1.90 |
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company |
2.04 |
2.09 |
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance |
2.73 |
2.83 |
Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance |
1.88 |
1.73 |
Tata AIA Life Insurance company |
1.96 |
1.86 |
SBI Life Insurance Company |
2.05 |
2.15 |
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company |
5.81 |
5.16 |
Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company |
2.35 |
2.29 |
PNB MetLife India Insurance Company |
2.09 |
1.86 |
Aviva Life Insurance Company |
1.82 |
1.84 |
Sahara India Life Insurance Company |
6.75 |
Transferred to SBI Life |
Shriram Life Insurance Company |
2.05 |
2.10 |
Bharti Axa Life Insurance Company |
1.62 |
1.63 |
Future Generali India Life Insurance Company |
1.83 |
1.96 |
Ageas Federal Life Insurance Company |
3.12 |
3.24 |
Aegon Life Insurance Company |
3.33 |
2.75 |
Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Company |
2.82 |
2.52 |
Pramerica Life Insurance Company |
4.04 |
3.69 |
Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company |
2.00 |
2.20 |
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company |
1.65 |
2.18 |
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