Rising incomes to boost insurance demand: LIC CEO

India’s low insurance penetration, coupled with economic growth, rising household incomes, increasing financial awareness and longer life expectancy, is expected to drive strong demand for protection, savings and retirement products in the coming years, LIC CEO & MD R Doraiswamy said on Tuesday.

“Meeting that demand, while adapting its distribution and product mix to a more competitive and digital market, will define LIC’s next chapter,” he said on the Corporation’s 70th foundation day.

LIC came into existence on September 1, 1956, through an Act of Parliament. Observing that 70 years of leadership do not remove the challenges that lie ahead, Doraiswamy said customers today have more choices than ever before, and technology has reshaped expectations; younger customers, in particular, expect insurance to be simple, personalised and available instantly.

These changing factors have been identified, and LIC is striving to adapt, he said, while spelling out key focus area like enhancing the product portfolio, improving technology and persistency and distribution mix.

Besides, he said, LIC would also work towards enhancing improved Asset Management capabilities to get better yield on the funds, in order to provide competitive returns to the policyholders under increased economic volatility.

As a listed entity, he said, LIC is now working to balance its historic social mandate — reaching underserved and rural India — with the return expectations of public shareholders.

Sharing some financial details, Doraiswamy said, total premium income rose to Rs 5,35,984 crore, while profit climbed to a record high of Rs 57,419 crore in FY26.

The claim figures for the anniversary year are equally telling, he said, adding, LIC processed 2.50 crore individual claims, including 2.41 crore maturity and survival benefit claims in FY26.

Maturity claims amounting to Rs 2.80 lakh crore and death claims of Rs 24,885 crore were paid during the year, with the individual death-claim settlement ratio at 99.44 per cent.

For LIC, claims settlement is not merely an operational statistic - it is the ultimate test of its social contract with policyholders, he said.

LIC’s evolution into a listed corporation has added a further dimension to its accountability, he noted.

Since its 2022 listing, it has consistently paid dividends; for FY2025-26, the Board recommended a final dividend of Rs 10 per equity share of Rs 10 face value - equivalent to Rs 20 per share on a pre-bonus basis.

The 1:1 bonus issue approved in 2026 effectively doubled LIC’s outstanding equity shares, intended to improve liquidity and reward shareholders for their continued confidence in the Corporation, he said.

In August 2026, he said, the government’s Offer for Sale of a 6.5 per cent stake in LIC drew exceptionally strong investor demand, raising Rs 31,552 crore and taking LIC’s public shareholding to 10 per cent - the largest OFS recorded in the Indian market.

That success reflects continuing confidence from India’s capital markets, he added.

Stressing that the institution that began in 1956 with Rs 5 crore of capital has become a financial giant, he said, but its greatest asset cannot be measured in rupees.

“It is trust,” he said.

“For seventy years, generations of Indians have placed their savings, hopes and family security in LIC. That trust was earned by the institution, but it was also built by its customers, sustained by its employees and agents, and backed, throughout, by the Government of India,” he said.

The most appropriate way for LIC to mark its 70th anniversary is therefore not simply to look back at what it has achieved, but to thank those who made it possible - and to renew the promise that the Corporation will continue to be at the forefront when India needs it most, he said.

As LIC enters its eighth decade, he said, it stands at the intersection of tradition and transformation.

Armed with a robust digital infrastructure, a diversified product suite, unmatched financial might, a strong army of dedicated agents, distribution partners, employees and the unconditional love of millions of citizens, he said.

LIC of India is fully prepared to script an even more glorious chapter in the service of the nation, he added.