New business premium of life insurers rose 14.8% in June; check top insurance stocks

New business premiums (NBP) of Indian life insurance companies soared 14.80% year-on-year in June at ₹42,433 crore, reported the Life Insurance Council on Monday. For the first quarter of FY25, NBP grew by 22.91% YoY to ₹89,726 crore.

Insurance companies collect premiums by selling new policies within a specific reported period, which are referred to as new business premiums (NBPs). NBPs are a key performance metric for insurance companies, highlighting the success of their sales and marketing initiatives and their capacity to achieve growth and draw new customers.

The state-owned Life Insurance Company of India (LIC) reported a 13.60% growth in NBP to ₹28,366.87 crore for the month.

In June, private insurance companies did better, seeing a 17.31% rise in NBP to ₹14,066.82 crore from ₹11,990.94 crore, even though six of these companies saw a drop. In the April-June quarter, private life insurers' NBP went up by 14.62% to ₹32,285.80 crore from ₹28,167.66 crore.

Amid this increase in NBP, let us glimpse at 5 top insurance stocks in India and track their recent performances:

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has been the torchbearer of the insurance sector. LIC, reported revenue of ₹2.38 lakh crore in the quarter ending March 2024, compared to ₹2.01 lakh crore in the same quarter a year ago. Its NBP slumped 4.81% YoY to ₹1,64,926 crore in the March quarter of 2024, although in June NBP increased 13.60% as mentioned above. LIC shares returned around 17.71% year-to-date and gained over 63% on the year.

SBI Life Insurance

SBI Life Insurance has a market cap of over ₹1.52 lakh crore. The company’s revenue in the last quarter of FY24 surged by approx 70.18% to ₹36255 crore. The company’s shares soared by 6.49% YTD and gained 17.90% YoY. Its stock touched a 52-week high price of ₹1,569.40 apiece on March 2, 2024, and fell to a 52-week low of ₹1,251.65 on August 3, 2023.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

ICICI Prudential Life (IPru Life) is a ₹92,866.30 crore market cap company that started in 2001. ICICI Prudential Life’s revenue jumped over 95% YoY in the quarter ending March 2024, to ₹22,482 crores. However, its net income for that quarter dropped 26.18% to ₹174 crores. Since the past six months, the company shares have risen around 18% and returned over 10% since the past month. Its stock scaled to a 52-week high of 652.40 on July 9, 2024, and slipped to a 52-week low price of 463.45 on January 18, 2024.

HDFC Life Insurance

HDFC Life Insurance, headquartered in Mumbai, is a ₹1,34,801.88 crore market cap company founded in 2000. In the quarter ending March 2024, HDFC Life Insurance reported revenue of ₹28,041 crores. Its net income also increased 13.73% to ₹412 crores. The NBP increased 1.9% YoY to ₹29,630 crore in Q4, FY 2023.

Its shares gained 9.99% in the past month but slumped 3.50% YTD. Its stock reached a 52-week high of ₹710.60 on December 12, 2023, and fell to a 52-week low price of ₹511.40 on June 4, 2024.

Star Health and Allied Insurance

Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd is a ₹33,594.54 crore market cap company founded in 2006. Its products mainly include health insurance, travel insurance, and accidental insurance.

Star Health and Allied Insurance reported revenue of ₹3,690 crores in the last quarter of 2023, a 17.88% increase from the same quarter a year ago. Its net income for the reported quarter of FY 2023 also surged by 39.84% to ₹142 crores. Shares of Star Health and Allied Insurance rose 5.18% YTD but have fallen 7.16% YoY. Its stock reached a 52-week high price of ₹675.00 on September 11, 2023, and dropped to a 52-week low price of ₹454.80 on March 1, 2024.

So, with a growing demand for insurance protection from individual consumers, the sector is poised to grow more in the coming year. The Life Insurance Council also reported a 12.13% increase in new policy issuances on a YoY basis in June.