India's life insurance growth slows to 10.6% in October

The industry is expected to grow by 1% to 13% over the next three to five years.

India’s life insurance industry experienced a slowdown in growth, with Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) rising by only 10.6% year-over-year (YoY) in October, compared to a 23.8% increase in September. 

This deceleration followed a robust first half of fiscal year 2025 (FY 2025), mainly led by private insurers, who depend heavily on the bancassurance channel, unlike LIC, which relies on the agency channel for over 90% of individual new business premiums, CareEdge Ratings said in a research note.

Industry experts from CareEdge expect that recent adjustments to product and commission structures could lead to variable premium trends in the second half of FY 2025. 

However, these changes are anticipated to benefit customers in the long term, supporting an expected industry growth rate of around 11% to 13% over the next three to five years. 

The shift toward the agency channel is likely to be driven by banks' focus on deposit gathering and efforts by insurance companies to diversify beyond bancassurance, although adverse economic conditions may present challenges.