Mumbai: Life insurance behemoth LIC is confident of buying a stake in a health insurer in the next two weeks, its chief executive Siddhartha Mohanty said on Tuesday. Without identifying the company it will be buying a stake in, Mohanty said the state-owned company is in final stage of talks and hoped that a deal gets announced before March 31.
“It is a natural choice for LIC to be in health insurance, discussion is going on at final stage,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the GCA25 event here.
Mohanty said LIC will not buy a controlling stake of 51 per cent or more in the target company and the exact quantum of the stake buy depends on factors like the decision of LIC board and valuations.
At present, life insurance companies are not allowed to offer health covers which include covering up hospitalization and other expenses for the insured. There was a suggestion for a composite licence for insurers, but no announcement was made in this regard in the Union Budget.
As per some media reports, LIC is said to be eyeing a stake in ManipalCigna in a deal pegged at Rs 4,000 crore.
In a regulatory filing issued later, the Corporation said it is in advanced talks to pick up a substantial stake in a “standalone” health insurer and no binding agreements have been signed so far.
“The execution and ultimate consummation of the deal is subject to various factors, including approval of the Board, regulatory approvals and other approvals, if any, before executing any binding agreements. There can be no guarantee or assurance of the execution/ consummation of the potential deal,” it said.
Meanwhile, the managing director and chief executive of the largest life insurer said there has been a “slowdown” in the growth of life insurance, particularly in terms of penetration lately.
The slowdown has happened even as there has been a focus on enhancing the principles of insurance facilitation and moving towards a principle-based regulatory framework, he said, adding that this “dual reality” calls for a “comprehensive review” of LIC’s approach.
He said actuaries will play an important role in addressing such challenges by providing objective and data-driven insights into emerging risks, developing innovative solutions to address the challenges of a changing world, ensuring the financial stability and sustainability of insurance companies.
In the third quarter of FY25, LIC reported a 9 per cent decline in its net premium income at Rs 1.06 lakh crore, even though the standalone net profit increased 17 per cent to Rs 11,056 crore.
Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said that actuaries will help reduce the premiums paid by the general public by using the most scientific ways of assessing risks.
This will help increase the insurance penetration in the country, he said, adding that at 3.7 per cent, the penetration is very low when compared with the world average of 7 per cent.
