Term Insurance Data Lab: 5-Year IRDAI and Insurer Data

The metrics discussed below, such as the Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR), Amount Settlement Ratio (ASR), complaints volume (per 10,000 claims), 30-Day CSR, annual business volumes/Gross Written Premiums (GWP), annual death claims paid, and solvency ratio, reflect the life insurer’s overall performance and are not limited to its term insurance portfolio.

Wherever applicable, we’ve included our calculation methodology for transparency.

To provide a more balanced long-term view, we also rely on individual policy data wherever available and exclude group business figures.

Data Sources

Note: Acko and Digit Life are newly established insurers with limited operational data available. It would be premature to rank them above established players until they demonstrate consistent performance over a sustained, long-term period.

India’s Term Insurance Industry Insights

Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR)

The Claim Settlement Ratio represents the total number of claims successfully settled out of the total claims available for settlement during a given period. Higher is better.

Amount Settlement Ratio (ASR)

The Amount Settlement Ratio (ASR) represents the total financial value of claims paid out against the total amount claimed within a single financial year. As death claims are either settled in full or rejected completely, leaving no room for partial payments, this metric is crucial. It highlights whether an insurer handles large-value and small-value death claims fairly.

A high Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR) combined with a low ASR often indicates that an insurer frequently settles small-value claims but systematically rejects larger ones. Higher is better.

Source: Derived directly from the IRDAI Statistics Handbook, published annually around February.

Complaints Volume per 10,000 Claims

This metric serves as a key indicator of customer satisfaction and overall service quality, tracking the number of formal consumer grievances filed per 10,000 claims an insurer processes. Lower is always better.

A lower complaint ratio indicates a seamless, user-friendly claim settlement experience with minimal operational friction.

Sources: Directly sourced from the insurers' public disclosures form L41 for Q4 (for the year).

Claims Settled Within 30 Days of Claim Receipt (30-Day CSR)

While the overall CSR tells you how many claims get approved, the 30-Day CSR tells you how fast they get paid. This metric measures the percentage of total claims an insurer successfully settles within one month of registration. Higher is always better.

A high 30-day settlement rate indicates highly efficient operational pipelines, minimal administrative red tape, and an organizational commitment to supporting families when they need it most.

Annual Business Volumes/Gross Written Premium (New Business)

An insurer's scale and business volume can be good indicators of its financial strength and operational stability. Imagine buying a ₹5 crore term plan, for an insurer that collects over ₹10,000 crore in new business premiums each year, paying such a claim is a relatively small obligation. But for an insurer with only ₹100 crore in new business, the same claim could have a much bigger financial impact.

For this metric, we only consider new business premiums and exclude renewal premiums, as they better reflect an insurer's ability to attract new customers and grow its business.

Annual Amount Paid in Death Claims

While the percentage of claims approved is a vital metric, tracking the actual capital given to families provides the ultimate measure of an insurer's scale. This metric evaluates the absolute financial volume an insurance company handles annually, specifically for death claims.

When it comes to financial reliability, scale matters. A higher annual payout indicates a robust, deeply capitalized operation capable of managing substantial financial obligations smoothly.

Solvency Ratio

An insurer’s promises are only as good as its financial backing. The solvency ratio acts as a critical measure of long-term financial stability, evaluating an insurance company's ability to meet its absolute liabilities and pay out future claims during severe economic stress.

To safeguard policyholders, the IRDAI mandates that every insurer operating in the industry must maintain a minimum solvency ratio of 1.5x. When assessing a company's financial health, a higher ratio indicates a more robust capital buffer.

Source: Direct number fetched from insurers' disclosure Form L-22 (Consolidated Analytical Ratios) (for the year)

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