JOIN USLife Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has certainly benefitted from the rise in equity markets during the current fiscal. The state-owned insurer has reported a profit of around Rs 16,000 crore in the current fiscal from sale of investments in equity markets, according to a top company official.
“We have bought stocks worth Rs 39,000 crore in the nine months of the current fiscal (FY17), and have accrued profits worth Rs 16,000 crore compared with Rs 9,500 crore in the previous fiscal,” LIC chairman V K Sharma said.
Gross yield on investment was 8.18% in 2016-17, Sharma said, adding that the insurer had invested Rs 1.83 lakh crore in government bonds and state development bonds until December 2016.
According to Sharma, the insurer is targeting new business premium of Rs 35,000 crore in the current fiscal. “We have already raised Rs 31,000 crore in terms of new business premium, and are now aiming to raise Rs 35,000 crore in new business premium by March-end, especially since March is strong for us,” Sharma said.
Sharma also said that demonetisation has not impacted the insurer’s premiums on an overall basis. “Some 50% of our premium collection used to be in cash and hence there was a fall in overall collection in the first 15 days after demonetisation. However, everything became normal by the 20th day and cash transactions have come down. The total cash flow per day has reduced compared with the pre-demonetisation days, and so the demonetisation phenomenon has not impacted us at all on an overall basis,” Sharma said.