Top 20 Life Insurance Companies in India – List & IRDA Ranking 2018

Life insurance companies in India- Did you know that there were around 245 Life Insurance Companies in India in January 1956.

Life insurance business was started in India in 1818 with the establishment of Oriental Life Insurance Company in Kolkata. After that, many companies started operations in India. In 1938, the Government of India introduced the Insurance Act which is mainly to protect the interests of the policy holders.

Formation of LIC in India

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was formed in the year 1956. The government took a decision of nationalizing the life insurance business by taking over all these existing companies.

Opening up of Insurance Sector

From 1956 to 1999, there was a monopoly of LIC in the life insurance sector in India. In 1999, as per the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee Report, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was formed. IRDA is an autonomous body to develop and regulate the insurance business in the country. The IRDA opened up the insurance market in 2000 allowing both Indian and foreign companies to transact business in India. The foreign participation is limited to 26% as of now.

Post IRDA period

From the year 2000, there are many private companies which started operations in India. At present, there are 23 private life insurance companies in addition to the public sector LIC. Most of the private companies operating in India are having a tie-up with one of the foreign partner company. Please read on to see a consolidated list of Life Insurance companies currently operating in India as given by IRDA.

Also Read – How to check LIC Policy Status Online

Top 20 Life Insurance Companies in India – List 2018

Here is list of life insurance companies in India . Every company is good in its own terms. So ranking one company above another does not make sense. It is a list of life insurance companies in India in a random order in 2018. Please do not consider it as Top 10 or Top 20 life insurance companies in India.

1. Bajaj Allianz
2. Birla Sun Life
3. HDFC Life
4. ICICI Prudential
5. Exide Life
6. LIC
7. Max Life
8. PNB Metlife
9. Kotak Life
10. SBI Life
11. Tata AIA
12. Reliance Life
13. Aviva Life
14. Shriram Life
15. Bharti Axa
16. Future Generali
17. IDBI Federal
18. Canara HSBC OBC
19. Aegon Life
20. DLF Pramerica
21. Star Union Dai-ichi
22. India First
23. Edelweiss Tokio

Let us get into details now

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance is a union between Allianz SE, one of the largest Insurance Company and Bajaj Finserv.

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited

Birla Sun Life Insurance is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group and Sun Life Financial Inc., one of the leading international financial services organisation from Canada.

HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited

It is a joint venture between HDFC and Standard Life. HDFC is India’s premier housing finance company and a well established financial conglomerate. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Standard Life is a leading provider of long-term savings and investments.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is a joint venture between ICICI Bank, a premier financial powerhouse in India and Prudential plc, a leading international financial services group headquartered in UK.

Exide Life Insurance Company Limited

Exide Life Insurance is having its headquarters in Bengaluru and is 100% owned by Exide Industries Limited, an Indian battery manufacturing company.

Life Insurance Corporation of India

LIC continued to be the market leader in India even 17 years after the privatisation of insurance sector. It has 2048 branch offices in the country, in addition to 992 satellite offices and 300 mini offices, which were opened in 2013.

Max Life Insurance Company Limited

Max Life Insurance is a joint venture between Max India Ltd. and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. Max India is a leading Indian multi-business corporate, while Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance is a member of MS&AD Insurance Group.

PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited

PNB MetLife India Insurance is a joint venture where MetLife, Inc. and Punjab National Bank (PNB) are the majority shareholders.

Kotak Life Insurance Company Limited

It is a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., its affiliates and Old Mutual plc. Kotak Mahindra group is one of India’s leading financial services conglomerates. Old Mutual provides life assurance, asset management, banking and general insurance in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

SBI Life Insurance Company Limited

SBI Life is a joint venture between State Bank of India, the largest public sector bank in India and BNP Paribas, a leading financial services group based out of France.

Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited

It is a joint venture between the Tata Sons and AIA Group. Tata AIA Life combines Tata’s prominent leadership position in India and AIA, one of the largest Pan Asian Insurance group.

Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited

Reliance Life is a joint venture between Reliance Capital and the Nippon Life Insurance of Japan.

Aviva Life Insurance Company Limited

Aviva Life is a joint venture between Dabur, a leading producer of traditional healthcare products in India and Aviva, UK’s leading insurer.

 Shriram Life Insurance Company Limited

Shriram Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between the Shriram Group, one of the leading financial services group in India and the Sanlam Group, one of the largest providers of life insurance based in South Africa.

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Limited

Bharti AXA Life is a joint venture between the AXA Group, and Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s leading business groups.

Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited

It is a joint venture between the Future Group and the Italy-based Generali Group. Future Group is one of India’s leading business houses with multiple businesses spanning across the consumption space. Generali Group is one of the leading insurance groups in Europe.

IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Limited

IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture of IDBI Bank, Federal Bank, and Ageas, an insurance giant based out of Europe with a heritage spanning more than 180 years.

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited

Canara HSBC OBC Life is a joint venture between two of the Indian banks namely Canara Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and a multinational bank HSBC.

Aegon Life Insurance Company Limited

Aegon is a joint venture between Aegon, an international insurance company and Times Group, India’s largest media house.

DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Limited

DLF Pramerica Life Insurance is a joint venture between DLF Limited, one of India’s largest real estate companies and Prudential International Insurance Holdings, a fully owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial Inc., a US-based financial services major.

Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Limited

Star Union Dai-ichi is a joint venture between Bank of India, Union Bank of India and the Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company.

IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited

IndiaFirst Life Insurance is a joint venture between Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal & General, one of the oldest insurance players in UK.

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company Limited

The company is a joint venture between Edelweiss Financial Services, one of India’s leading financial services companies and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., one of the oldest and the biggest insurance companies in Japan.

Insurance Companies in India – History of Insurance

IRDA Ranking of Insurance Companies in India

IRDA does not rank life insurance companies in India. It considers every company as equal.