Life Insurance Corporation

Established in 1956, LIC is the oldest life insurance company that continues to deliver exhaustive financial security to the people of India. Over the years, LIC has positioned itself as an insurer that consistently manages to meet customer expectations. The latest figures in LIC claim settlement ratio, annual revenue, and premium generated are indicative of the remarkable performance put forth by the company.

LIC offers a multitude of insurance plans to its customers to choose from. In fact, as of the year ended March 2020, LIC achieved a record high of 2.19 crore in their number of policies.

Even with rising competition from private players, LIC reported an impressive Rs. 51,227 Crore in their first-year premium income in FY 2019-20.

Awards and Recognition

LIC has been successfully maintaining its position as the most trusted insurance brand in India. The company continues to shine through with its performances year after year by bringing in new and improved insurance plans and policies for the masses. In recognition of their solutions, LIC has received countless awards, especially for serving the underserved population of the country. Some of the recent achievements of LIC are listed below.

• Reader's Digest Trusted Brand Award 2020 adjudged LIC as the winner in the Life Insurance Category
• Brand Finance Insurance 100 report for 2021 ranked LIC in 3rd position in the Most Strongest Indian Insurance Brand list
• Brand Finance Insurance 100 report for 2021 ranked LIC in 10th position in the Most Valuable Indian Insurance Brand list
• LIC falls under the world's top 100 brands by value according to 2020 BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking released by WPP and Kantar

Key Features Of LIC

Investing in an insurance policy secures the financial needs of a family, after the unfortunate demise of the policyholder. These policies are offered at a reasonable premium, and with the provision for additional riders, they can also offer financial protection from critical illnesses.

Given the myriad of options available, it is important to identify the right insurer and the right plan that will best suit the potential needs of the customer and her/his family in the future. Key factors that should be taken into consideration while choosing a plan are companies' annual premium, solvency ratio, and claim settlement ratio.

Our team at PolicyX evaluated 24 companies based on the above-mentioned factors. Notably, LIC was found to have ranked best in terms of financial soundness and claim support service.

Given below are a few highlights about the company's performance. Let's have a look at them:

In the following section, we provide you with a detailed explanation of these features. Read along to find out.

1 Market Share

Market share is a good benchmark towards understanding the performance, growth, and financial position of a company in this industry. Over the years, LIC has maintained its position as a public sector giant in the insurance space.

As of March 2020, LIC holds 66.2% of the market share in the life insurance segment. Further, the company recorded 12.41% growth in their premium income in FY 2019-20, as compared to 6.06% in the previous year.

In the graph below, we have highlighted the yearly trend in the amount of annual premium generated by LIC, over the past four fiscal years. As indicated by the graph, the annual premium increased gradually from FY 2016-17 to FY 2019-20.

Yearly Trend in Annual Premium of LIC (Rs. in Crore)

**Data has been sourced from IRDAI's annual report of 2019-20

2 Claim Settlement Ratio

The ratio indicates the number of claims settled by the company out of the total number of claims received by it. It is a principal factor in determining the reliability of an insurance company. Therefore, those interested in investing in an insurance plan should always seek a company with a good claim settlement ratio (CSR).

As per the IRDAI's annual report, the claim settlement ratio of LIC stood at 96.69% in FY 2019-20. The company successfully settled over 215 lakh claims that amounted to a total of Rs. 1,59,770.32 Crore.

In the graph below, we have presented the yearly trend in the CSR of LIC, over the past four fiscal years.

Yearly Trend in Claim Settlement ratio of LIC (in %)

**Data has been sourced from IRDAI's annual report of 2019-20

3 Solvency Ratio

The solvency ratio is another key parameter that underscores the financial trustworthiness of an insurance company. It measures the ability of the company to meet its long-term debt obligations and other monetary commitments. IRDAI dictates that all life insurance companies in India should maintain a solvency ratio of at least 1.5%.

It is worth highlighting that in the last four years, LIC has managed to maintain a solvency ratio of 1.5% and above. The IRDAI annual report FY 2019-2020 reveals the solvency ratio of LIC as 1.55.

The following graph illustrates the solvency ratio of LIC across four quarters from FY 2016-17 to FY 2019-20.

Yearly Trend in the Solvency Ratio of LIC

**Data has been sourced from IRDAI's annual report of 2019-20

4 Operating Network

As recorded in 2020, the company has an extensive network of distribution comprising 8 zonal offices, 113 divisional offices, 1,381 satellite offices, 2,048 fully computerized branch offices, 3,354 Life Plus offices, 31,556 Premium Points, and a Corporate office in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Further driven by its vision to ease access to its policies and improve customer convenience, the company has undertaken initiatives such as:

• LIC has teamed up with banks and service providers across selected cities to facilitate an online premium collection facility.
• It has commissioned Info Centers to be set up in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, and many other cities.
• It has launched Satellite Sampark offices, which are smaller, leaner, and closer to their customers.

Products Offered by LIC

LIC offers a range of plans, both individual and group, each catering to the needs of the society through competitive features and additional riders. Customers at LIC are assured the best service and products, including health plans, micro insurance plans, pension plans, term insurance, and unit-linked products, among others, which are constantly updated per changing needs and times.

Let's look at a quick overview of insurance plans offered by the company.

Claim Process of LIC Insurance

The nominee of the insurance plan can file a claim for the policy upon the death of the policyholder. Once LIC is intimated about the death of the Life Assured, the Branch Office requests for the following:

• Claim form A - Duly filled and attested with claimant's statement providing details of the deceased and the claimant.
• Certified extract from Death Register
• Documentary proof of age and address proof of the nominee/claimant.
• Original Policy Document
• Cancelled cheque and photocopy of the passbook of the nominee.

Note: Depending upon the TnCs of the plan, you might be required to submit some additional documents as well. We recommend that you should check the specific plan brochure for that.

How to Contact LIC?

Registered and Corporate Office Address: Yogakshema Building, Jeevan Bima Marg, P.O. Box No – 19953, Mumbai – 400 021 IRDAI Reg No- 512.

Contact Information: LIC call center: 022 6827 6827 (Monday to Friday: 08.00 a.m. to 08.00 p.m. / Saturday: 10.00 a.m. to 06.00 p.m.)

Customers can also contact their nearest Customer Zones for personalized services, information, and any assistance, the details of which can be found on LIC website under 'Contact Us'.

SMS Service: SMS LICHELP <policy number> to 9222492224 or SMS LICHELP <policy number> to 56767877.