Life Insurance Companies In India

There are 25 leading life insurance companies in India which have been regulated by the Insurance Regulatory And Development Authority of India (IRDAI). These life insurers offer comprehensive insurance solutions and cater to the needs of individuals and groups. They also provide a wide range of insurance products and benefits at competitive premiums. 

Forbes Advisor India has listed all the top life insurers of India, in order to provide you a glimpse of each life insurer and to make your purchase decision easier and smooth. 

Best Life Insurance Companies In India

Life Insurance Corporation of India    

Life Corporation of India or LIC is known as one of the largest providers of insurance in India. Undoubtedly, LIC has a huge range of policies to offer such as term plans, endowment plans, plans for senior citizens or children. The LIC policies are further divided into the following five categories, such as insurance (endowment, money back and term plans), pension plans, unit-linked plans, rural or micro insurance plans and a limited variety of health plans.

Certain plans of LIC also provide coverage for whole life, i.e., up to 99 years. Other than pure insurance plans, the LIC plans also provide survival, maturity and death benefits to their policyholders.

Related Article: Best Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) Policies

HDFC Life Insurance

HDFC Life is one of the leading private insurance providers in the life insurance space. The company is headquartered in Mumbai along with more than 350 branches all over India. HDFC Life is known in the market for its flexible policies and new-age features such as return of purchase price, waiver of premium, joint life coverage, lifelong regular income options. The company also offers whole life coverage along with discounts on online purchase.

The company provides a full range of insurance plans such as term plans, ULIPs, endowment and savings plans, retirement plans, among others.

Related Article: HDFC Term Insurance Review

Max Life Insurance

Max Life Insurance company is known for its best claim settlement ratio, which stands at 99.34% (FY 2021-22) and new-age innovative insurance products. The company aims to fulfill the needs of insured at every stage of life.

Max Life insurance has a huge range of policies, features such as return on premium option, inbuilt terminal coverage, policy break in adverse situations, flexible policy terms and comfortable tenure, helps you to achieve long-term stability. The minimum entry age of Max life insurance plans is 18 years to 65 years. The company also offers a 5% immediate discount on online purchase.

Related Article: Max Life Insurance Policies

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

ICICI Prudential Life insurance offers a huge range of life insurance policies which are not only comprehensive in their coverage but also offer insurance benefits up to 99 years of age. These plans have flexible premium payment options and policy terms with an option to increase and decrease the coverage as per every stage of life.

ICICI Prudential offers higher sum assured coverage plans and has the option of add-on riders such as accidental death, critical illness and terminal illness. The company also offers a 5% immediate discount on online purchase.

Related Article: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Review

Kotak Life Insurance

Kotak Life Insurance is a private life insurance company in India, founded in 2001. The company is headquartered in Mumbai and provides a range of term plans, saving and investment plans, retirement plans and many more. The Kotak Life insurance plans are flexible and comprehensive in their nature, which can be bought both online and offline.

The company also gives discounts on premium to women policyholders and individuals who opt for higher sums.

Related Article: Best Kotak Life Insurance Plans Of March 2023

Aditya Birla SunLife Insurance (ABSLI)

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance is one of the leading private insurers in India, offering a huge range of policies which are designed to provide protection along with several guaranteed income payouts and wealth boosters.

The company offers a 5% discount on the online purchase. The life insurance plans by ABSLI have wide policy terms and wide sum assured coverage. It also offers optional add-on riders such as critical illness, accidental death rider, surgical care rider, hospital care rider and waiver of premium rider. These policies also offer whole life coverage up to 100 years.

Related Article: Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Review

TATA AIA Life Insurance

Tata AIA Life Insurance policies offer comprehensive coverage to their policyholders with a wide range of benefits and optional riders such as hospitalization cost coverage, critical care coverage, among others. The policies offer whole life coverage up to 100 years and also focuses on providing guaranteed regular income and payouts with the flexibility of partial withdrawals. The company also offers discounts on premium for women policyholders.

Related Article: Tata AIA Life Insurance Review

SBI Life Insurance

SBI Life is a leading life insurance company of India. The company offers maximum life coverage up to 100 years along with benefits such as in-built terminal illness cover, premium waiver and joint life cover options. The minimum entry age for buying these plans starts from 18 years to 65 years. Policyholders can buy insurance plans online by their application- SBI Yono.

The company offers a whole life cover of up to 100 years along with the various benefits. SBI Life plans also offer optional riders such as accidental death, accidental disability, critical illness and terminal illness riders. The company also offers a 5% discount on the online purchase.

Related Article: Life insurance policies of SBI Life

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance

Bajaj Allianz life Insurance has the most impressive claim settlement ratio of 99.02%, as per latest figures. The company has its headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra along with more than 500 branches all over India. The company offers a huge range of life insurance plans such as term plans, ULIP plans, child insurance plans, retirement plans and savings and investment plans.

Bajaj life insurance is enriched with digital features and thus ensures smooth buying and claim settlement process. The company offers 5-10% discount on the online purchase.

Related Article: Top Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Policies

PNB MetLife India Insurance

PNB MetLife India Insurance has a huge presence all over India and is present in 117 locations across the country. The company has a huge range of protection, retirement and savings policies which ensures guaranteed income, death and maturity benefits with wide sum assured options. The company also has a tie-up with 11 private and nationalized banks for better reach and penetration. The minimum entry age for PNB MetLife policies is from 18 years to 65 years.

Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company

Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company is amongst the leading private sector life insurance companies in India with over 10 million policyholders across India. The company has a strong distribution network of more than 700 branches. Reliance Nippon offers a huge variety of plans under the segment of term insurance, savings and investment, retirement plans, child insurance, health insurance and NRI plans.

The company offers wider coverage along with guaranteed benefits and flexibility of premium payment options. One also has the freedom to choose the way they want to receive their insurance benefits as per the conditions of the plan.

Aviva Life Insurance Company

Aviva India, a leading life insurance company which is a joint venture of British based company Aviva and Indian conglomerate Dabur. This company has its headquarters in Gurugram and it started its insurance operations in India in 2002.

Aviva Life offers a wide range of life insurance products, including term insurance, investments plans, child insurance plans, savings plans, retirement plans and more to their customers. Aviva Life insurance plans offer guaranteed returns via interim and lump sum payouts. The company also provides options to choose from various premium payment frequencies.

Sahara India Life Insurance

Sahara India Life Insurance is one of the first kind of pure Indian firm which provides insurance policies in the life insurance sector without any foreign collaboration. The company has its headquarters in Lucknow with a knowledgeable presence in most parts of the country. Sahara India Life has a good range of life insurance plans catering to the need of all the sections of society. Sahara India Life provides money back plans, term insurance, ULIPs, endowment plans and also group insurance plans.

Shriram Life Insurance

Shriram Life Insurance is a life insurance company of Shriram Group of companies. Incorporated in 2005, the company started its operations in 2006. It has its headquarters in Hyderabad and a strong network of 400 branch offices across India.

Shriram Life offers a wide range of individual and group insurance policies in the form of term insurance, savings plans, wealth plans and micro insurance plans. These plans have wide policy terms and sum assured coverage along with optional riders such as critical illness and accidental death rider.

Related: Shriram Life Insurance Review

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company

Bharti AXA Life Insurance policy is one of the leading providers of life insurance policies in India. The company offers benefits such as flexible insurance policies, multiple options for income payouts, whole life coverage and joint life cover along with their policies.

The company is based out of Mumbai and has a solid network of nearly 300 branches across India. Bharti AXA Life Insurance policy also boasts an impressive claim settlement ratio, which is one of the highest, 99.09% in the financial year 2021-22.

Future Generali India Life Insurance Company

Future Generali India Life Insurance provides a wide range of specialized insurance products including ULIPs, child insurance, health, savings, retirement and group insurance plans. The company was incorporated in 2007 with an aim to provide retail, commercial and rural insurance products in India. Future Generali India Life provides life cover, together with guaranteed payouts and maturity benefits. 

Ageas Federal Life Insurance

Ageas Federal Life has a huge range of plans in its kitty, be it term plans, child insurance plans, ULIPs, savings or retirement plans. The company also offers group life insurance plans which helps to secure employees under a single insurance plan. Incorporated in 2008, Ageas Federal Life Insurance is a joint venture between Ageas Bank and Federal bank and Aegas.

The minimum entry age for buying Ageas Federal Life plans is from 18 years to 60 years.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance

As the name suggests, Canara HSBC Life is a joint venture between Canara Bank, HSBC Insurance Holdings Limited and Punjab National Bank. Founded in 2008, the company offers a great range of insurance policies, providing comprehensive coverage, loyalty additions and guaranteed benefits.

The policies not just offer life cover for the whole policy term but also have a huge scope for long-term wealth creation to protect the financial future of your family in your absence. Canara HSBC Life also offers discounts for higher sum assured and female lives.

Aegon Life Insurance Company

Aegon Life Insurance started its operations in India in the year 2008.  The company offers a mix of life insurance policies in the form of term plans, savings plans, retirement policies and group life insurance policies. All the policies of Aegon Life cover claims related to Covid-19. These policies also ensure a comprehensive and multiple coverage options with cost-effective premium amounts.

Aegon Life also promises a hassle-free claim settlement process and very responsive customer care services via its multiple channel distribution strategy.

Pramerica Life Insurance

Primerica Life insurance is a multinational insurance company that provides life insurance policies for individuals as well as groups. These plans are designed in a way to secure protection needs such as securing their child’s future, retirement planning, savings and wealth creation. The company has a total 130 branches and 24 lakh policyholders.

Star Union Dai-Ichi Life Insurance

Star Union Dai-Ichi Life Insurance is a leading private insurance company in India. Founded in 2009, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance (SUD Life) is a joint venture between two of India’s leading public sector banks, Bank of India and Union Bank of India, and Dai-ichi Life Holdings, a leading life insurance company in Japan. The company has a robust network of over 15,000 branches catering to more than one crore policyholders.

Star Union Dai-Ichi Life has a huge variety of investments plans, retirement plans and protection plans.

IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company

India First Life Insurance offers a decent range of online term insurance plans, child insurance plans, ULIPS, savings and retirement plans for its customers. The policies offer whole life coverage up to 100 years with useful inbuilt benefits such as terminal illness and accidental death benefit.

However, the policies are not very comprehensive in nature and offer limited benefits and riders as compared to its peers in the market.

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance company was established in 2011. The insurance policies by the company offer multiple income payout options as per the need and the convenience of the policyholder. The company provides coverage of up to 100 years under the whole life cover option.

These policies also offer six optional add-on riders along with the option of covering their spouse under the same plan. All the life insurance policies cover claims related to Covid-19 and offer discounts on premium if chosen with the higher sum assured.

ACKO Life Insurance

ACKO Life Insurance received its life insurance license in 2023 and has started their operation in the life insurance space from March 25, 2023. It plans to offer a wide variety of plans such as term insurance, endowment plans, ULIPs, pension plans and whole life insurance.  The plans offered by Acko Life ensure long-term savings, loan facility, extra additional income and life insurance riders. The company has its headquarters in Bengaluru backed by the likes of Amazon, Accel, General Atlantic and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), joined the unicorn club in 2021.

Acko already operates a general insurance company named Acko General Insurance.

Credit Access Life Insurance

Similarly on the lines of ACKO, Credit Access Life Insurance also received its insurance license in 2023. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Currently, Credit Access Life Insurance works closely with the low-income customer segment to provide basic life insurance services. It might later expand its portfolio of services in life insurance space in the years to come.

Related Article: What Is Life Insurance & How Does It Work