Max India set to exit health insurance business :

True North Managers Lip, a Private equity firm is close to buying out Analjit Singh Promoted Max India Ltd’s entire 51% stake in standalone health insurer Max Bupa Health Insurance Co. Ltd. according to sources, Max India will exit the health insurance business a decade after it entered as a promoter. This will mark the first exit by an Indian promoter in the domestic health insurance industry.

The new joint venture will have the True North as the majority partner, while British partner Bupa will continue to hold 49% in Max. Bupa. True North will buy Max India’s 51% stake in Max Bupa at around Rs.1,000 crore, said the first person cited above, requesting anonymity. The deal would value Max Bupa at around Rs. 2,000 crores, this person said.

LIC first year premiums shrink by 7.9 per cent :

First year premiums collected by Life Insurance Companies for April – November 2018 saw a tepid growth of  0.33 per cent over the same period last year, mainly because of Life Insurance Corporation’s shrink in growth. First year premiums earned by life insurers amounted to Rs. 1.23 trillion in April–November 2018 as against Rs. 1.22 trillion in the same period in 2017.

LIC sees a sharp fall in NPAs :

LIC has seen a sharp fall in its net non- performing assets from Rs. 70.40 billion in March 2018 to Rs. 15.8 billion as of October 31,2018, according to the figures provided by the finance ministry in reply to a question asked by members of parliament in the Lok Sabha.

“With regard to whether there is risk in LIC’s NPAs and clearing of the NPAs, it may be noted that as per LIC’s inputs, the rising trend in LIC’s gross NPAs over the last three financial years has been reversed in the current financial year”, said  Minister of state in the Ministry of Finance.

Birla Sun Life Insurance performs better :

While the life insurance sector grew 6% in individual annualized premium equivalent (APE) basis, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance individual APE of ABSL between April and November 2018 was up 62 per cent to Rs. 93.81 billion, whereas the average growth among private players stood at 11 per cent for the same period.

Pankaj Razdan, Managing Director and Chief Executive office, ABSI, said “When I took over in 2014, we decided to transform the company and build a business that could absorb all shocks that may come at any point in time. One of the fundamental shifts at ABSL was building instruments to measure “trust surplus” which means focusing on “qualitative and sustainable” aspects rather than just the numbers.