Insuring Future: Top 10 Life Insurance Companies in India 

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Living in the era where sudden war and terrorist attack occurs, from nowhere a  disease outburst in a night, sudden fire breaks out due to global warming and many more unpredictable life threatening outcomes, it is advisable to have a life insurance plan. India’s life insurance sector showed strong growth in the first quarter of FY25, with first-year premiums surging by 22.91% year-on-year at Rs. 89,726.7 crore. LIC dominates the first-year premium share of life insurance in India with 56.96%, while the private sector holds 43.04%.

With about 70,000 crore premiums yearly, Life Insurance is the biggest sector in the world growing at a positive rate of 17% every year – States IBEF 2025 Report.

List of Top 10 Life Insurance Companies in India:

Trends in India’s Life Insurance Sector

• Digitalization and Innovations

Robotic Process Automation [RPA] and AI is at center stage in the insurance segment, driven by newer data channels, better data processing capabilities and advancements in AI algorithms. 

• Evolution and Customization of Product

Insurers are introducing customized and innovative products, expanding the choices available to the policyholders in order to address the dynamic needs of the market, which will further help in enhancing the insurance intelligence in India.

• Regulatory changes and their impact 

The Indian government has increased the FDI limit in insurance companies from 74% to 100%, this strategic decision is intended to attract additional capital into the capital-intensive insurance sector, ensuring that insurers invest all collected premiums within the country.

• COVID-19 effects on awareness and demand

The instability of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the necessity for consumers to invest in products that would increase financial security. In FY21, the renewal premium increased by 21% at 53.3 billion USD from 43.9 billion USD in FY20. 

Top 10 Life Insurance Companies in India

1. Life Insurance Corporation of India

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Life Insurance Corporation of India, the oldest and dominant life insurer was created on 1st September, 1956 with the focus of separding life insurance much more widely, particularly to the rural areas with aim to reach all insurable persons in the country at affordable cost financial coverage. With Re-organisation in early eighties, the corporation had already crossed Rs.7000 crore sum assured on new policies. Today, it has over 2.04 crore policies issued. In 2024, over 2.21 crore, a number of claims were settled per day by the corporation. This corporation is the 4th largest insurer in the world. LIC Jeevan Labh and LIC Jeevan Umang are the highest selling policies of the corporation. 

2. SBI Life Insurance

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Incorporated in 2000, SBI Life Insurance is one of the most trusted life insurance companies in India, was started as a joint venture with BNP Cardif S.A. Today, more than 2.2 million policies are issued by the company. SBI Life Insurance is amongst the leading listed Life Insurance Company on BSE and NSE. It won the “Best Life Insurance Company-India” at the ICC Emerging Asia Conclave & Awards 2025 and “Best AI- Powered Conservational Analytics Platform” at the 2nd Edition of Data Analytics and AI Show 2025. SBI Life Smart Swadhan Plus and SBI Life Smart Elite are the amongst best selling policies of the company.  

3. HDFC Life Insurance 

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HDFC Life Insurance was established as a joint venture between HDFC and Aberdeen group, an investment company of the UK, incorporated in 2000. Today, with over 6.6 crore lives insured by HDFC, it is one of the leading private life insurance companies in India. HDFC Life Insurance has expanded its services by establishing its office in Dubai. In  2025, at the ET NOW Best BFSI Brands, HDFC Life was honoured with the ‘Best BFSI Brands’ and was recognised in the ‘Emerging Tech Led Innovation’ at the IBEX BFSI Technology Awards. HDFC Life Click 2 Protect Super and HDFC Life Sanchay Plus are the top selling policies of the company. 

4. Tata AIA Life Insurance

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Tata AIA Life Insurance company is a joint venture that combines TATA’s  exceptional leadership position in India and AIA’s presence as the largest listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world. Leading as the most trusted insurance company, the Tata AIA Life Insurance has protected over 85 lakh families. The company holds 5th position based on individual weighted new business premium. Tata AIA has been recognised for 8 consecutive years as ‘Kincentric Best Employer Award’ and won ‘Great Place to Work’ Certificate in 2023. Tata AIA Smart Sampoorna Raksha Solution and Tata AIA Sampoorna Raksha Promise are the best selling life insurance of the company. 

5. Axis Max Life Insurance 

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Collaboration of Max Financial Services Limited and Axis Bank Limited established a joint venture Axis Max Life Insurance in 2001. The company is renowned for its strong financial stability and customer-centric approach. From its establishment, the company has insured over 1.01 crore lives till today, with a net retention ratio of 98%. In 2024, the company expanded its services in Dubai.  Axis Max Life Insurance was accorded the Silver-Digital Branding Excellence Award for smart EDM’s at ACEF Asian Business Leadership Conference and Awards 2024. Axis Max Life Fast Track Super and Axis Max Life Smart Secure Plus Plan are amongst the best selling policies of the company. 

6. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance

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Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance is a leading fastest-growing insurer, a joint venture of Bajaj Finserv Limited and Allianz SE- a global financial service provider. From establishment in 2001 till today, the company has covered over 4.19 crore lives and has been the first insurer for bringing technological innovations in the insurance industry of India. With 99% net retention ratio the company has Assets Under Management [AUM] over 1,18,350 Rs. crore.  In 2024, the company received the ‘Golden Peacock HR Excellence Award’ from the Institute of Directors [IOD] in the insurance category. Bajaj Allianz Life eToch II and Bajaj Allianz Life iSecure II are the highest selling policies of the company.

7.  ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company 

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Founded in 2000, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is one of the country’s leading private life insurance companies, and is promoted by ICICI Bank Limited and Prudential Corporation Holdings Limited. The company with 99.6 % net retention rate has covered over 9.69 crores of lives. In FY25, the company crossed Rs. 3 trillion of assets under management [AUM] and is a leading private insurer listed on NSE and BSE. in 2025, the company was awarded for ‘Outstanding AI powered business transformation’ at the 4th Edition Bharat BFSI Leadership Summit and Awards. ICICI Pru iProtect Smart and ICICI Pru Protect N Gain are the highest selling policies of the ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. 

8. Shriram Life Insurance

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Founded in 2005, Shriram Life Insurance is amongst the leading insurance companies, a joint venture of Shriram Group and Sanlam Group of South Africa. With its establishment till today the company has served 7.2+ crore customers and has created a prosperous legacy. Shriram Life Insurance’s year-on-year growth was recorded at 21% at Rs 2,782 crore for the period April-December 2024. The company was awarded the BFSI award for ‘Excellence in Claims Management’ at the 7th BFSI CTO Summit Tech Innovation Awards in 2023. Shriram Life Cash Back Term Plan and Shriram Group Term Life Insurance are the best selling life insurance of the company.

9. Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance

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Incorporated in 2000, a joint venture of Aditya Birla Group and Sun Life Financial Inc.-an international financial services organization of Canada, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance is one of the leading private insurers in India. Today, the company has over 19.3 lakh active customers with 97% net retention ratio. In 2020, the company was awarded ‘Customer Service Provider of the Year’ in the annual insurance India awards and was recognised as ‘Emerging Insurer Overall Achievement’ in life insurance category at ASSOCHAM 16th Global Insurance Summit and Awards 2024. ABSLI Nishchit Aayush Plan and ABSLI Assured Savings Plan are the most popular life insurance plans of the company. 

10. Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance

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Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance is amongst the fastest growing insurance companies in India, is a subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited. The company with 98.10% net retention rate has covered over 50 million lives from its establishment. In 2024, the company’s product T.U.L.I.P- Term with Unit Linked Insurance Plan won award ‘Product of the Year’ under the life insurance- ULIP category at 16th Edition of the Product of the Year and ‘Most innovative Marketing Campaign in the Insurance Sector’ for their WhatsApp campaign. Kotak Assured Savings Plan and Kotak e-Term are the popular life insurance plans of the company.

How to choose the Right Life Insurance Company?

• Evaluate your personal insurance needs.
• Compare multiple policies of different companies.
• Evaluate product diversity and flexibility of the company.
• Check Solvency ratio, Claim Settlement and Financial stability of the company.
• Analysis customer experience and ratings.
• Digital assistance and support provided by the company.
• Consult financial advisors to make strategic decision. 

To conclude, LIC has been recognized as the leading insurance brand, boasting a consistent brand value of US$ 9.8 billion while private players have experienced decent growth in individual and group premiums. Merger and acquisitions will continue to be a part and parcel of the insurance sector, which is a highly capital-intensive sector and can accommodate new entrants with specialised skill sets having long-term vision. With the increasing educated population and COVID-19 breakout, the awareness about life insurance plans has set a growing and leading marketplace of Life Insurance in India, with massive opportunities for investments.