Life Insurance Companies in India (2026)
India has 26 life insurance companies registered with IRDAI as of September, 2026, of which Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India is the only government-owned insurer. Life insurers are licensed to sell term plans, endowment and savings policies, unit-linked plans, annuities and pension products.
Key Facts
| Total life insurers | 26 |
| Government-owned | 1 (LIC) |
| Private | 25 |
| Newest entrants | CreditAccess Life, Acko Life, Go Digit Life (2023) |
| Minimum solvency ratio required | 1.50, set by IRDAI |
| Regulator | IRDAI |
| Claim data source | Handbook on Indian Insurance Statistics 2024-25/ IRDAI Annual Report 2024-25 |
| Data verified | September 2026 |
List of All 26 Life Insurance Companies in India
India’s 25 IRDAI-registered life insurance companies include one government insurer, LIC, and 24 private insurers. The table below carries each company’s registration number, claim settlement ratio and solvency ratio, so you can compare claim performance and financial strength in a single view.
Two figures matter more than the rest. The claim settlement ratio tells you how often an insurer paid, and the solvency ratio tells you whether it can keep paying under stress. Read both alongside the claim volume column, because a ratio calculated on a few hundred claims carries far less weight than the same ratio on tens of thousands.
| # | Company | IRDAI Reg. No. | Sector | HQ | Founded | CSR [FY 2024–25] | Claims settled (count) | Solvency (as of March 2025) |
| 1 | Life Insurance Corporation of India | 512 | Government | Mumbai | 1956 | 97.59% | 8,48,145 | 2.11 |
| 2 | HDFC Life Insurance | 101 | Private | Mumbai | 2000 | 99.68% | 19,666 | 1.94 |
| 3 | Axis Max Life Insurance | 104 | Private | Gurugram | 2000 | 99.70% | 20,165 | 2.01 |
| 4 | ICICI Prudential Life Insurance | 105 | Private | Mumbai | 2000 | 99.31% | 12,319 | 2.12 |
| 5 | SBI Life Insurance | 111 | Private | Mumbai | 2001 | 98.34% | 44,205 | 1.96 |
| 6 | Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance | 107 | Private | Mumbai | 2001 | 98.61% | 4,613 | 2.45 |
| 7 | Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance | 109 | Private | Mumbai | 2001 | 98.65% | 6,275 | 1.88 |
| 8 | Tata AIA Life Insurance | 110 | Private | Mumbai | 2001 | 99.41% | 8,526 | 1.80 |
| 9 | Bajaj Life Insurance | 116 | Private | Pune | 2001 | 99.29% | 13,994 | 3.59 |
| 10 | PNB MetLife India Insurance | 117 | Private | Mumbai | 2001 | 99.57% | 5,615 | 1.72 |
| 11 | IndusInd Nippon Life Insurance | 121 | Private | Mumbai | 2002 | 98.93% | 8,286 | 2.35 |
| 12 | Aviva Life Insurance | 122 | Private | Gurugram | 2002 | 99.07% | 747 | 1.93 |
| 13 | Sahara India Life Insurance | 127 | Private | Lucknow | 2004 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 14 | Shriram Life Insurance | 128 | Private | Hyderabad | 2005 | 98.31% | 4,770 | 1.79 |
| 15 | Bharti AXA Life Insurance | 130 | Private | Mumbai | 2006 | 99.18% | 2,068 | 1.67 |
| 16 | Generali Central Life Insurance | 133 | Private | Mumbai | 2007 | 98.08% | 920 | 1.70 |
| 17 | Ageas Federal Life Insurance | 135 | Private | Mumbai | 2007 | 98.52% | 1,128 | 2.70 |
| 18 | Canara HSBC Life Insurance | 136 | Private | Gurugram | 2008 | 99.43% | 2,771 | 2.06 |
| 19 | Bandhan Life Insurance | 138 | Private | Mumbai | 2008 | 99.73% | 364 | 2.69 |
| 20 | Pramerica Life Insurance | 140 | Private | Gurugram | 2008 | 99.18% | 722 | 2.33 |
| 21 | Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance | 142 | Private | Mumbai | 2008 | 98.84% | 2,385 | 2.30 |
| 22 | IndiaFirst Life Insurance | 143 | Private | Mumbai | 2009 | 98.22% | 3640 | 2.00 |
| 23 | Edelweiss Life Insurance | 147 | Private | Mumbai | 2011 | 99.29% | 556 | 1.81 |
| 24 | CreditAccess Life Insurance | 163 | Private | Bengaluru | 2023 | N/A | N/A | 3.59 |
| 25 | Acko Life Insurance | 164 | Private | Bengaluru | 2023 | N/A | N/A | 1.96 |
| 26 | Go Digit Life Insurance | 165 | Private | Bengaluru | 2023 | N/A | N/A | 3.85 |
Three patterns are worth noting once the figures are in. Claim settlement ratios cluster tightly at the top of the market, so the ratio alone rarely separates the established insurers from each other. Solvency ratios sit well above the 1.50 minimum across the sector.
LIC remains the largest life insurer in India by premium income and by policies in force, though private insurers have taken a rising share of new business premium since 2020.
Four names on this list changed recently.
- Reliance Nippon Life Insurance became IndusInd Nippon Life Insurance after IndusInd International Holdings acquired Reliance Capital in April 2023.
- Bajaj Allianz Life became Bajaj Life in October 2025 after Allianz SE sold its stake to Bajaj Group.
- Future Generali India Life became Generali Central Life in August 2025.
- Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance was rebranded as Edelweiss Life Insurance in June, 2024.
LIC vs Private Life Insurance Companies
LIC is India’s only government-owned life insurer and the largest by premium income and policies in force. Twenty-four private life insurers compete for a growing share of new business. Both are regulated identically by IRDAI, hold the same minimum solvency requirement of 1.50, and are equally bound to honour a valid claim.
The comparison below covers the differences that actually affect a policyholder. Financial safety is not one of them, because the regulatory floor is the same for all 25 companies.
| Parameter | LIC | Private life insurers |
|---|---|---|
| Number of companies | 1 | 25 |
| Ownership | Government majority after the 2022 IPO | Private, Indian and foreign |
| Agent and branch reach | Largest agency force in India, deep rural presence | Smaller, concentrated in cities, more digital |
| Product weighting | Traditional savings and endowment plans | Broader in term, ULIP and rider-heavy products |
| Term plan pricing | Generally higher for the same cover | Generally lower for the same cover |
| Claim settlement ratio | 97.59% | 97.82 |
| Digital servicing | Improving, still branch-led | Stronger apps, instant issue, online claims |
| Minimum solvency ratio | 1.50 | 1.50 |
| Policyholder protection | Identical under IRDAI rules | Identical under IRDAI rules |
Verdict:
LIC suits buyers who want the widest agent network, want to buy in person, or are buying traditional savings-linked policies. Private insurers usually offer cheaper pure term cover and faster digital servicing. Neither group is safer than the other, because IRDAI’s solvency and policyholder protection rules apply identically to all 26 companies.
One point deserves stating plainly, because it drives a great deal of misplaced confidence. Majority government shareholding in LIC is not a government guarantee on your payout. It shapes LIC’s capital position and its distribution reach. It does not place a sovereign guarantee behind an individual policy, and no Indian life insurer carries one.
Claim Settlement Ratio: What it Means and How to Read It
A claim settlement ratio is the percentage of death claims a life insurer settled against the claims it received in a financial year. IRDAI publishes the figure annually for every insurer. Ratios above 98 per cent are common among established Indian life insurers, which means the ratio on its own rarely separates one from another.
The formula is straightforward:
Claim settlement ratio = (claims settled ÷ claims received) × 100
An insurer that received 10,000 death claims and settled 9,850 of them reports a ratio of 98.5 per cent.
Why Claim Volume Matters as Much as the Ratio
Two insurers can report the same ratio on completely different evidence. Consider these two, using illustrative figures:
| Insurer A | Insurer B | |
|---|---|---|
| Claims received | 400 | 40,000 |
| Claims settled | 396 | 39,200 |
| Claim settlement ratio | 99.0% | 98.0% |
Insurer A reports the higher ratio. Insurer B settled 39,200 claims against A’s 396. Four unsettled claims at Insurer A could be four genuine frauds or four badly handled cases, and at that volume you cannot tell which. Insurer B’s ratio rests on a hundred times more evidence.
Verdict:
Treat a claim settlement ratio as meaningful only when the insurer handled enough claims for the percentage to be stable. For a company writing its first few years of business, the ratio tells you very little, however impressive it looks.
Count Ratio Versus Amount Ratio
IRDAI publishes claim settlement by number of claims and by value of claims. The two can diverge, and the gap is informative. An insurer that settles 98 per cent of claims by count but a noticeably lower percentage by value is rejecting proportionally more of its large claims. If you are buying a high sum assured, the amount ratio is the more relevant of the two.
Why Life Insurance Claims Get Rejected
Almost every rejected death claim in India falls into one of four categories:
- Non-disclosure of medical history: An existing condition not declared on the proposal form is the single most common ground for repudiation.
- Misstatement of income, occupation or age: Insurers underwrite on these, and a material misstatement can void the contract.
- Policy lapse: A policy out of force at the date of death pays nothing beyond any surrender value.
- Claims within the contestability period: Under Section 45 of the Insurance Act, 1938, a life insurance policy may not be called in question after three years on grounds such as fraud or a misstatement or suppression of a material fact. The three-year period is calculated from the date of the policy’s issuance, commencement of risk, revival, or the date of a rider.
The practical takeaway is uncomfortable but useful: Most claim rejections trace back to what was written on the proposal form, not to the insurer’s conduct at claim time. Declare everything, including conditions you consider trivial.
What the Ratio Does Not Tell You
A claim settlement ratio says nothing about how long settlement took, how much documentation the family had to produce, or how the insurer handled the process. For that, look at IRDAI’s published grievance data, which counts complaints by insurer and is the measure insurers feature least.
Solvency Ratio of Life Insurance Companies
A solvency ratio measures an insurer’s available capital against the minimum capital IRDAI requires it to hold. IRDAI mandates a minimum solvency ratio of 1.50 for every registered insurer, and most Indian life insurers report ratios comfortably above that floor.
A ratio of 1.50 means the insurer holds one and a half times the capital the regulator considers the bare minimum for the risks on its books. A ratio of 2.00 means twice that minimum.
Three things are worth knowing about how to read it.
- The floor is regulatory, not advisory. An insurer falling below 1.50 attracts supervisory action from IRDAI. Sitting close to the floor is a signal to look further, not proof of trouble.
- Higher is not automatically better. A very high solvency ratio can indicate an insurer holding capital it has not deployed, which is not the same as an insurer serving policyholders well. Read it as a safety check rather than a ranking.
- It moves. Solvency is reported quarterly and changes with new business, investment performance and capital injections. A figure more than a year old should be refreshed before you rely on it.
IRDAI publishes solvency ratios in its Annual Report, and each insurer publishes them in its own quarterly public disclosures.
Types of Life Insurance Plans Indian Insurers Offer
Indian life insurers sell six main categories of plans. Term insurance provides pure protection with no maturity value, while the others combine protection with savings or investment in different proportions.
| Plan type | What it does | Who it suits | Maturity value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term insurance | Pays a death benefit only, for a fixed term | Anyone with dependants who wants maximum cover per rupee | None |
| Endowment plan | Combines life cover with guaranteed savings | Conservative savers who want a disciplined lump sum | Yes |
| Unit linked plan (ULIP) | Splits premium between cover and market-linked investment | Investors comfortable with market risk and a long horizon | Yes, market-linked |
| Money-back policy | Pays periodic sums during the term plus a maturity benefit | Buyers who want intermittent liquidity | Yes |
| Whole life plan | Covers the insured up to age 99 or 100 | Estate planning and legacy purposes | Yes, on death or maturity |
| Annuity and pension plan | Converts a corpus into a regular income stream | Retirees seeking predictable income | Income rather than lump sum |
| Child plan | Life cover plus a savings goal tied to a child’s education | Parents building a dated corpus | Yes |
Verdict:
Buy term insurance for protection and keep investment separate, unless you have a specific reason to combine them. Term insurance delivers the highest cover per rupee of premium of any life product, and the savings-linked plans generally return less than a comparable investment held separately. That is a trade-off worth making consciously rather than by default.
How to Choose a Life Insurance Company in India
Choosing a life insurance company in India comes down to four published measures: claim settlement ratio read alongside claim volume, solvency ratio against the 1.50 minimum, persistency ratio, and grievance data. All four are published free by IRDAI, and together they say more than any brand campaign.
- Claim settlement ratio, with volume. Covered above. The ratio matters; the claim count tells you how much to trust it.
- Solvency ratio. Check that it sits meaningfully above 1.50 and has not fallen sharply year on year.
- Persistency ratio. The persistency ratio is the percentage of policies still in force after 13, 25, 37, 49 and 61 months. It is the most revealing figure on this list and the least discussed. Low persistency means customers stop paying, and customers stop paying when they do not understand what they bought. A high 13-month persistency ratio indicates an insurer whose distribution explains its products honestly. The 61-month figure is the harder test, because it captures whether a policy sold five years ago is still wanted.
- Grievance data. IRDAI publishes complaint counts by insurer. Read complaints relative to policy count rather than in absolute terms, since a larger insurer will naturally receive more.
Beyond the numbers, three practical checks matter:
- Does the insurer offer the specific plan type you need, at the sum assured you need?
- Can you service the policy the way you prefer, whether that is online or through a branch in your city?
- If you are buying at an older age or with an existing medical condition, will this insurer underwrite you at all? Entry age limits and underwriting appetite vary widely, and this filters the list faster than any ratio.
If you hold a policy issued under a former name, the policy remains valid, and the successor company is legally bound to honour it on its original terms. Contact the current entity using the policy number printed on your original document.
Private Life Insurance Companies in India (25)
India has 25 active private-sector life insurance companies, alongside Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s sole public-sector life insurer. Based on the IRDAI Annual Report 2024-25, the private-sector list contains 26 names; however, Sahara India Life Insurance Company Ltd has no new business following IRDAI’s direction to transfer policy liabilities to SBI Life in 2023.
The private life insurance sector can broadly be divided into three groups:
- Bank-backed and bancassurance-led insurers.
HDFC Life, SBI Life, ICICI Prudential Life, Axis Max Life, Kotak Mahindra Life, Canara HSBC Life, PNB MetLife, IndiaFirst Life and Star Union Dai-ichi Life have strong banking and financial-services distribution relationships. IRDAI reports that corporate agents accounted for a significant share of private insurers’ individual new business premium in FY 2024-25.
2. Corporate and foreign-partner insurers.
Tata AIA, Bajaj Life, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Aviva Life, Bharti AXA Life, Generali Central Life, Ageas Federal Life, Pramerica Life, Edelweiss Life, IndusInd Nippon Life, Sahar India Life, Shriram Life and Bandhan Life represent a diverse mix of Indian corporate groups, financial institutions and international insurance partnerships. These insurers are included in IRDAI’s private-sector life insurance data.
3. Newer and technology-focused entrants.
Acko Life, CreditAccess Life and Go Digit Life are among the newer private-sector life insurers listed by IRDAI. The FY 2024-25 insurer-wise data records their premium contributions, although the report itself does not specifically classify them by business model.
Private Insurers’ Market Performance
Private life insurers continued to strengthen their position in India’s life insurance market during FY 2024-25. They recorded ₹3,96,923 crore in total premium underwritten, while LIC recorded ₹4,88,849 crore. Private-sector premium grew 12.07% during the year, compared with 2.75% growth for LIC.
Private life insurers also issued 92.39 lakh new individual policies during FY 2024–25, accounting for 34.19% of the industry’s 270.22 lakh new individual policies.
How to Check if a Life Insurer is Registered with IRDAI
Every life insurer on this page holds a current IRDAI registration, and you can confirm any of them in under two minutes. Open the list of life insurers on irdai.gov.in, match the full legal name on your proposal form against the register, and check the registration number printed in the insurer’s website footer.
The pillar page sets out the full four-step check, including how to verify an agent or broker separately from the insurer itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many life insurance companies are there in India?
India has 26 life insurance companies registered with IRDAI as of 2026. One, Life Insurance Corporation of India, is government-owned, and the other 25 are private. The most recent additions are CreditAccess Life, Acko Life and Go Digit Life, all licensed in 2023. Sahara India Life holds a registration but no longer writes new business.
Which life insurance company has the highest claim settlement ratio?
Claim settlement ratios change every financial year, and IRDAI publishes them annually for all 26 life insurers. Read any ratio alongside the number of claims the insurer handled, because a very small claim book can produce a flattering percentage. The comparison table on this page shows both figures side by side for every insurer.
Is LIC better than private life insurance companies?
LIC and private life insurers are regulated identically and hold the same 1.50 minimum solvency requirement, so neither group is safer. LIC offers the widest agent network and deepest rural presence. Private insurers generally price term cover lower and settle claims faster through digital channels. The right choice depends on which of those matters more to you.
Is my money safe with a private life insurance company?
Private life insurers operate under IRDAI’s regulatory, capital and solvency requirements. If an insurer faces financial difficulty, IRDAI has regulatory powers to protect policyholders, including measures such as the transfer of policy liabilities where applicable.
What happens to my policy if my life insurance company shuts down?
Your policy does not simply lapse if a life insurer stops operating. IRDAI has the power to direct the transfer of an insurer’s policy liabilities to another company, which is what happened when Sahara India Life’s portfolio moved to SBI Life. The receiving insurer is legally bound to honour the transferred policies on their original terms.
Which is the oldest life insurance company in India?
Life Insurance Corporation of India, formed in 1956, is the oldest life insurer still operating in the country. LIC was created when the government nationalised 245 private life insurance companies. India’s first life insurer was Oriental Life Insurance Company, started in Kolkata in 1818, but that company no longer exists.
Can I have life insurance policies from more than one company?
You can hold life insurance policies from as many companies as you wish, and many people do. You must declare existing cover on every new proposal form, because insurers underwrite total cover across the market rather than per policy. Undeclared existing cover is a form of non-disclosure and can lead to a claim being repudiated.
How do I check the claim settlement ratio of a life insurance company?
Claim settlement ratios for every Indian life insurer are published by IRDAI in its Annual Report and its Handbook on Indian Insurance Statistics, both available free on irdai.gov.in. Compare the ratio alongside the total number of claims the insurer handled that year, and check the settlement ratio by amount as well as by count.
ON THIS PAGE
- List of All 26 Life Insurance Companies in India
- LIC vs Private Life Insurance Companies
- Claim Settlement Ratio: What it Means and How to Read It
- Solvency Ratio of Life Insurance Companies
- Types of Life Insurance Plans Indian Insurers Offer
- Private Life Insurance Companies in India (25)
- How to Check if a Life Insurer is Registered with IRDAI
- FAQs
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