LIC of India enters into 65th year of its existence

Ludhiana: Life Insurance Corporation of India entered into 65th year of its existence on 1st September, 2020.  A premier financial institution of the country, it has immensely contributed to propagating the message of life insurance. In its 64 years of existence. LIC has spread its wings from being the leading Life Insurance Company   into an internationally recognized financial conglomerate with the presence in fourteen countries. It has also ventured into other financial services through its Subsidiaries and Associates viz  LIC HFL Ltd, LIC Pension Fund Ltd, LIC Mutual Fund, LIC Cards Services Ltd,  IDBI Bank Ltd , LIC HFL Care Homes Limited, LICHFL Financial Services Limited,  and LICHFL Asset Management Company Limited.

Starting with an initial capital of Rs.5 Crore in 1956, today LIC has Asset base of  Rs. 31,96,214.81 Crore, with Life Fund to the tune of Rs. 31,14,496.05 Crore. LIC has always been at the forefront in Nation Building Activities by deploying the funds to the best advantage of the policy holders as well as the Community as a whole, true to the spirit of nationalization. National priorities and obligation of reasonable returns to the policyholders are the main criteria of our investments. The total funds, so invested for the benefit of the community at large are Rs 30,69,942   Crore as on 31st March 2020.

LIC is today serving its customers through Eight Zonal Offices, 113 Divisional Offices, 74 Customer Zones, 2048 Branch Offices, 1526 Satellite Offices , 3354 Life Plus Offices and 31556 Premium Points. It has over one lakh employees, 12.08 Lakh agents and  28.92 crore plus policies In-force.  Today LIC offers a bouquet of 28 plans for sale under Individual Business, each catering to the needs of various segments of the society viz Endowment, Term Assurance, Children, Pension, Micro Insurance, Health Insurance and Unit Linked products etc. Customers are assured to be provided with the best products as per their changing needs and changing times.

During 2019-20 Life Insurance Corporation of India has registered a growth of 25.17 % in the New Business in terms of the First Year Premium. The Total First Year Premium amounted to   
Rs 1.78 Lakh Crore at the end of 31st March, 2020 capturing 68.74% of market share. As on 31st March , 2020,  LIC’s market share in terms of number of policies was 75.90%, garnering  2.19 Crore new policies, highest in six years inspite of major Corona impact at year end.

Pension & Group Superannuation Business created history, crossing one Lakh Crore and collected Rs 1,26,696 Cr  as New Business Premium Income registering a growth of 39.46%.

In 2019-20  LIC has  settled 215.98 lakhs claims amounting to Rs. 1,59,770.32 Crore. 

LIC has been a trailblazer in embracing technology for supporting its sales and servicing functions. The focus has now shifted to improving the online and digital presence in order to remain customer-centric, improve pricing and create operational efficiencies. LIC has a strong online presence and has provided digital platform for new business and servicing operations to both internal and external customers, including channel platforms like banks and other agencies.  The Customer Portal system of LIC is designed to enhance the digital experience and provide online services to the customers.  The Customer Mobile App, which is available on both Android and iOS, has more than 34 lakh users. MPIN based access to mobile applications is in place for ease of use to the customers.

LIC has leveraged various digital platforms for electronic premium payments to provide a seamless experience to customers. PayTM (directly), PhonePe and GooglePay (through BillDesk) are some of the more recent modes that are available to customers for premium payment digitally.  Renewal premium collection transactions through the Digital infrastructure have reached an all-time high of 40.23 %. LIC has launched a chatbot for the convenience of online visitors to the corporate website.  The chatbot, named LIC Mitra, is capable of answering a variety of questions on the plans available for sale, servicing related queries and also premium payment enquiries. 

LIC Golden Jubilee Foundation, established in the year 2006, caters to the Community Development Initiative of the Corporation and works on a large variety of projects focusing on Relief of poverty or distress, Advancement of education, Medical Relief and Advancement of any other object of general public utility. Since inception, the Foundation has supported NGOs dedicated to the above causes through 543 projects.

While explaining the contribution of Ludhiana Division Ganesh Lal, Senior Divisional Manger told that Ludhiana Division which comprises Samrala, Khanna, Jagraon, Bathinda, Mansa, Rampura Phool and Ludhiana city itself has performed very well during the financial year ending 31.03.2020. During this year Ludhiana Division has sold total 1,03,987 New Policies with collection of 219.65 Crore towards First Premium Income. Whereas the claim performance of the Division has remained very satisfactory. During the year 2019-20 total 1,01,358 claims of Maturity and Survival Benefits amounting to Rs. 65376.45 (in Lakhs) were settled during the year. Similarly 3273 death claims, amounting to Rs. 7756.50 (in Lakhs) were also settled within 15 days from the intimation.

Giving the latest position of the Division as on 31.08.2020, he explained that Ludhiana  has settled 1230 Death Claims by making payment of Rs. 2607.60 (in Lakhs) and 40264 cases of Maturity and Survival Benefits were settled by paying Rs. 29486.69 (in lakhs).