Top 10 Life Insurance Companies in India 2024

Updated on Feb 09, 2024

Life insurance is a popular investment plan bought by several Indians, who want to secure the future of their family in case of an untimely death. All insurance companies in India are regulated by IRDAI or the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. With fierce competition between different life insurance companies in India, a potential policy buyer may find it difficult to choose the right policy.

So, we thought of sharing with you the list of the top 10 insurance companies in India 2024 and their key features in this post.

Benefits of Buying a Life Insurance Policy

The Insurance industry in India is expected to introduce various new trends in the coming years. If you are not yet aware of buying a life insurance plan then read on:

1. Financial Security

A life insurance plan can relieve your family from the financial burden in your absence in case of your untimely demise

2. Tax Benefits

Almost all life insurance plans come with a tax-free benefit according to the Income Tax Act 80C

3. Cash Value Growth

A life insurance policy is a guaranteed way to grow your cash value to meet your various future financial goals

4. Optional Riders

You will get several life insurance companies offering additional rider benefits on additional premium payments

List of life insurance companies in India 

Over the years, the following life insurance companies succeeded to emerge as the best ones to offer the best returns and minimum risk:

10 Best Life Insurance Companies in India 2024

We strongly advise you to go through the salient features of the top 10 life insurance companies in India before buying one, so have a look:

1. Max Life Insurance Company:

With a claim settlement ratio of 99.35% in 2022 – 23, Max Life has turned out to be the best life insurance company in India. Max life insurance is actually a joint venture between Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Ltd. and Max Financial Services Ltd.

Some key features of Max Life Insurance are:

• Various life insurance plans like term insurance, retirement, health insurance, and savings plan
• Life covers up to 2 Crore
• 24×7 customer service

Policies Offered by Max Life Insurance:

• Term insurance plans
• Term insurance with returns
• Unit-linked insurance plans
• Child plans
• Retirement plans
• Savings and Income plans
• Group insurance plans
• Cancer insurance plans
• NRI plans

Riders Offered: 

• Accidental benefit rider
• Waiver of premium plus rider
• Partner care rider
• Critical illness benefit rider
• Critical illness disability rider

 2. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company:

Offering a plethora of life insurance plans, Bharti AXA is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and AXA Insurance Company. It has emerged as one of the top life insurance companies in India in 2024.

Some key features of Bharti AXA Life Insurance are:

• Options to buy term insurance, investment plan, savings plan, health insurance, and retirement plan
• Solvency Ratio of 1.72
• Enhanced customer service 24×7 with digital initiatives

Policies Offered by Bharti AXA Life Insurance

• Term insurance
• Savings plans
• Investment plans
• Group plans
• Yoddha plans

Riders Offered: 

• Group accidental death benefit rider
• Accidental death benefit rider
• Hospi Cash Benefit Rider
• Premium waiver rider
• Life term rider
• Non-linked complete shield rider
• Life-linked complete shield rider

 3. AEGON Life Insurance Company: 

Founded in the year 2008, Aegon Life Insurance Company is run by highly talented and innovative people, who help people make better investment decisions. The claim settlement ratio of AEGON life insurance in 2022-23 was 99.25%.

Some key features of Aegon Life Insurance are:

• Option to buy online endowment plans, term plans, ULIP plans, retirement plans, savings plans, group plans, and child plans
• Multi-channel marketing platforms
• 24×7 customer support

Policies Offered by AEGON Life Insurance

• Term insurance
• Savings plans
• ULIPs
• Retirement Annuity plans
• Retirement pension plans
• Child plans
• Group Insurance plans

Riders Offered: 

• Accident benefit rider
• Waiver of premium plus rider
• Partner care rider
• Critical illness benefit rider
• Critical illness and disability rider

 4. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company: 

Those interested to buy a life insurance policy in India in 2024 may consider buying one from Bajaj Allianz. It is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Ltd. and Allianz SE.

Some key features of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance are:

• A broad range of life insurance policies are offered such as term insurance, health insurance, ULIP, investment and savings plan
• Solvency Ratio of 6.14
• Return on Mortality Charges in ULIP plans

Policies Offered by Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance:

• Term insurance plans
• ULIPs
• Savings plans
• Investment plans
• Pension plans
• Child insurance plans
• Group insurance plans

Riders Offered:

• Individual riders
• Accident permanent total/Partial disability benefit rider
• Waiver of premium benefit
• Critical illness benefit rider
• Group rider

5. LIC Insurance Corporation of India:

LIC, or Life Insurance Corporation of India is one of the oldest and best insurance companies in India. The company started operating in 1956 and offers a good claim settlement ratio every year.

Some key features of LIC life plans are:

• More than 3,000 offices in PAN India
• Claim settlement ratio of 98.62%
• Solvency ratio of 1.79

Policies Offered by LIC:

• Insurance plans
• Endowment plans
• Pension plans
• ULIPs
• Micro Insurance Plans
• Withdrawn Plans
• Whole life plans
• Money back plans
• Term assurance plans

Riders Offered:

• Linked accidental death benefit rider
• Premium waiver rider
• Critical illness benefit rider
• New term assurance rider

 6. HDFC Life Insurance Company:

With over 372 branches PAN-India, HDFC is one of the most reliable life insurance companies in India. It has established partnerships with over 300 partners.

Some key features of HDFC Life Insurance are:

• Claim settlement ratio of 98.01%
• Solvency ratio of 1.89
• 24×7 customer service

Policies Offered by HDFC Life Insurance Company

• Term insurance plans
• Savings plans
• ULIPs
• Retirement annuity and pension plans
• Child plans
• Group insurance plans

Riders Offered:

• Term rider
• Critical illness plus rider
• Protect plus rider
• Group illness rider

 7. Tata AIA Life Insurance Company: 

Founded in 2001, Tata AIA is a joint venture between Tata Sons Ltd. and AIA Group Ltd. It offers a wide range of life insurance plans in the form of savings, investments, retirement, health, and savings plans.

Some key features of Tata AIA Life Insurance are:

• Solvency ratio of 1.89
• Claim settlement ratio of 98.02%
• Amazing customer care service 24×7

Policies Offered by Tata AIA Life Insurance:

• Term insurance
• Savings plans
• ULIPs
• Retirement plans
• Group plans
• Term plans with market-linked returns

Riders Offered:

• Traditional riders
  vitality protect
• Non-linked comprehensive protection rider
• Waiver of premium plus rider
• ULIP riders
• Accidental death and dismemberment rider

8. Aviva Life Insurance Company:

Offering strong customer support, Aviva Life Insurance is a joint venture between Aviva pLc and Dabur Group. It has won several awards for introducing some of the best services and products.
Some key features of Aviva Life Insurance are:

• Popular plans are child plans, term insurance, retirement plans, and health insurance plans
• Claim ratio of 98.01%
• 24×7 efficient customer support

Policies Offered by Aviva Life Insurance:

• ULIPs
• Child Insurance
• Retirement plans
• Group insurance plans

Riders Offered:

• Accidental benefit rider
• Waiver of premium plus rider
• Partner care rider
• Critical illness benefit rider
• Critical illness disability rider

 9. SBI Life Insurance Company: 

Offering a plethora of life insurance plans at very economical rates, SBI has over 947 offices across the country. It is slowly and steadily enhancing its claim settlement ratio year by year.

Some key features of SBI Life Insurance are:

• Popular plans offered are child plans, savings plans, and pension plans
• Claim settlement ratio of 93.09%
• Solvency ratio of 2.1

Policies Offered by SBI:

• Retirement plans
• Child plans
• Money back plans
• Combo plans
• Saving plans
• Protection plans
• Wealth creation with insurance

Riders Offered:

• Accidental death benefit rider
• Accidental total and permanent disability benefit rider
• Preferred term rider
• Accident death benefit
• Additional core critical illness

10.ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company: 

ICICI Prudential is a trusted name when it comes to buying a life insurance policy in India. It has introduced various customer-centric plans with affordable premiums.

Some key features of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance are:

Wide range of term insurance, health insurance, savings, child, and investment plans

• Claim settlement ratio of 97.90%
• Excellent customer service support 24×7

Policies Offered by ICICI Prudential Life Insurance:

• Term policies
• Term insurance with returns
• ULIPs
• Child plans
• Guaranteed return plans
• Retirement and pension plans
• Savings plans
• Endowment plans

Riders Offered:

• Income benefit rider
• Waiver of premium
• Critical illness
• Accidental death rider
• Permanent and partial disability rider
• Income benefit rider

How to select the best insurance company

Below are some factors to consider while finding the best policy to suit your purpose:

• Buy policy as per your needs and suitability: There are several insurance companies in India offering life insurance policies. A policyholder needs to find the right policy to suit their needs. You need to look for various factors like policy features and benefits, premium price, add-ons, and the purpose you are seeking a policy.
• Compare plans before opting for the one to match your need: This is another important consideration. To ensure that you are buying the best policy, you must check different insurers and different policies, get the required information, and choose the plan that is more apt for your situation
• Buy the riders that you need: Add-on riders make your policy comprehensive. Sometimes, if you are not happy with the features and coverage of your plan, you may seek riders to enhance the protection offered by the life insurance company. However, consider the riders that you think you need such as premium waiver riders, accident benefit riders, and more
• Get a medical check-up done before buying a policy: You may also get a health check-up done before buying a life insurance policy to help choose the best plan and riders as per your health conditions. Blood and urine tests, cholesterol check-ups, and glucose and BP checks are a few tests you may consider.
• Check the claim settlement ratio (CSR) of the insurers: Finally, the CSR of a company is an extremely important consideration that you cannot miss. When you shortlist the insurance companies as per your requirement, consider the CSR of the insurer and choose the one that has the best CSR. This will ensure that the insurer is good at paying claims and your nominee will receive the claim without a hassle.

Factors to Consider Before Choosing the Best Life Insurance Companies in India

Take a look at some factors that you may consider while buying life insurance from the best life insurance company in India:

• Customer care service – It is always advisable to choose an insurer that has good customer backup and support. Without the 24/7 availability of customer care, you will find issues while trying to get in touch with the insurer for any matter.
• Available Riders – As already mentioned above, add-on riders make your policy comprehensive. So, if you want to make your coverage comprehensive, you may seek riders to enhance the protection offered by the life insurance company. There are various options like premium waiver riders, critical illness, accident benefit riders, and more to choose from.
• Persistency ratio – This is another interesting factor. The persistency ratio shows the number of policyholders who have renewed their policies from the same insurer year after year. So, have a look at the number of policyholders who have renewed their policies from an insurer from among the total number of policyholders of the insurer to check this ratio. IRDA is the best source to check these details.
• Financial strength – Without a strong financial foothold, the insurer will not be able to support your claims. Hence, seeking an insurer with strong financial backing as per ratings from agencies like CRISIL, ICRA, etc., is important.
• Reviews – Reviews and feedback from policyholders are another important thing when considering a policy and an insurer for buying life insurance. The positive/negative feedback will help you understand the insurer better.
• Product offering – The list of products available with an insurer gives you a choice to pick the best plan from among the ones available. Hence, it is important to choose an insurer with a wide product range. This way, you can select a plan to suit your needs, in terms of investment, savings, retirement planning, and so on.
• Claim settlement ratio – The CSR of an insurer reflects the reliability and claim-paying capacity of an insurer. Hence, it is considered an important factor to consider that the insurer is capable of paying claims to your nominee.

Popular Term Insurance Companies India

Conclusion
In a nutshell, do consider buying a life insurance policy to secure the future of your loved ones. Research well about the various plans offered by the top life insurance companies in India. Ensure that the life insurance company you choose offers a high claim settlement ratio, excellent customer service, and digital ease for premium payment and calculation.

Related Articles

• What is Life Insurance Policy
• Steps Involved in Making a Death Claim On a Life Insurance Policy
• Life Insurance Underwriting 
• Loan Against Life Insurance Policy
• What is Paid-Up Policy In Insurance?
• Solvency Ratio

Other Term Insurance Products

Term Insurance Saral Jeevan Bima Term Plans 1Cr Term Plans 2Cr Term Plan 50 Lakh Term Plan Term Plan Riders