It may be `acche din’ for the state owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). The corporation which was constantly losing its market share a few years back, has Improved  its performance by not only exceeding its premium target for 2017-18 in individual segment, second time in succession, also managed to add Rs 5 trillion of assets during 2017-18.

We have exceeded premium target of the current fiscal of Rs 38,000 crore by achieving a 12-15 per cent growth in  the premium income in the individual segment. We will have a premium income of around Rs 42-43,000 in this segment by the end of the current fiscal, We have also almost added another Rs 5 trillion of assets to existing base of Rs 25 trillion during the year,’’ said VK Sharma, chairman, LIC  to Asia Insurance Post.

The corporation is likely end the year with Rs 80,000 crore equity investment. In the last financial year, LIC had invested Rs 47,000 crore in the equity markets.
 
Sharma said, “Equity investments has gone up because of the coropration's contrarian approach in otherwise a volatile markets.Our objective is just not buying and selling, but go for long term investments. We are now handpicking good companies with a long term view and we have increased our buying of stocks with the ongong volatility in the market.''

He also added that, LIC has earned Rs 20,000 crore of profit from sales of equity investments in this financial year till December, up from Rs 16,000 crore in the last fiscal.'

The corporation's gross total income rose to Rs 3,78,599 cr,up 12.19 per cent  in the nine months ended in Dec 2017 from Rs 3,37,466 cr as at  the last corresponding period.

It had mobilised new business  premiums  of  Rs 99, 783.33 cr, up 19.47 per cent in the nine months ended Dec, 2017. 
The corporation during the first nini months has collected over Rs 2,23,854 cr of  total premium income as compared to Rs  2,00,818 cr  mopped up during the corresponding period last year, showing a very robust growth of 11.47%.

Its total new business premium, including pension and group business, rose to Rs 1.22 lakh crore in 2016-17, a rise of 25.8 per cent from around Rs 97,000 crore a year ago.