75628In view of reduced inflation and expenses, will it be right to invest in IT stocks?

India’s largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation’s asset base as of March 2021 has gone past Rs 38 lakh crore, with total investments to the tune of Rs 36,76,170 crore along with a life fund of Rs 34,36,686 crore, according to a report in The Times of India.

For the fiscal ended March 2020, LIC’s total assets were just under Rs 32 lakh crore, with total investments of Rs 30.7 lakh crore and a life fund of Rs 31.1 lakh crore.

September 1 is the foundation day of LIC, which marks its 66th anniversary this year. The balance sheet figures which were released ahead of the foundation day provided certain insights into the valuation of the company that is preparing for its initial public offering (IPO). A clear picture will however be available once the insurer releases the embedded value of its business.

On the growth trajectory

The growth in LIC’s balance sheet during the pandemic riddled FY21 took place on the back of growth of 3.5% in new business, where it collected Rs 1.8 lakh crore in first-year premium from 2.1 crore fresh policies. The insurer’s assets also grew with pension and group superannuation segments collecting Rs 1.3 lakh crore as new business premium. In terms of settlements, LIC settled 2.3 lakh claims pegged at Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

LIC currently has a market share of 66.2% in first-year premium income and 74.6% in the total number of policies. The company achieved another milestone this year by deploying digital channels for the payment of close to 75% of its total renewal premiums. This was a significant jump from FY21 when premium collection via alternate channels stood at 61.9% for policies and at 54.8% in terms of volumes of the total renewal premium collection of the insurer.