Term Insurance: Individual Premium Income Spikes by 19% Following Historic Policy Exemptions

The pure protection and term life insurance sector has recorded robust momentum, posting a 19% year-on-year increase in premium income over the last quarter alone. Total premium collections climbed to Rs. 62,581 crore, up from Rs. 52,427 crore in the previous year, fueled by a wave of new retail buyers capitalising on the recent tax exemptions for individual life insurance products. Major market players are seeing strong individual non-single premium growth, driven by a growing public preference for financial safety nets over market-linked investments. Banking and insurance leaders emphasise that pure protection products must remain the financial sector’s core priority, given that true term insurance still accounts for only about 10% of the overall life insurance market. To capture the remaining uninsured market, leading insurers are rapidly introducing innovative product structures, including “Cover Continuance” features that allow struggling families to safely defer their premiums for a year without losing their active life cover.