Shriram Life Insurance, which focuses on low- and middle-income households, is betting on annuity and pension products, with India’s elderly population being projected to rise from 150 million to 350 million by 2050.
“The market for annuities is going to be very big. If getting lives covered through term insurance is important, having enough corpus in retirement is equally crucial,” said Casparus JH Kromhout, managing director and CEO of Shriram Life Insurance. “That’s why the market is growing.”
Annuities currently account for less than 5% of Shriram Life’s portfolio, but the company is laying the groundwork to expand the segment.
The focus comes amid the UN Population Fund’s projection that 20% of India’s population will be aged 60 and above by 2050, up from over 10% at present. A NITI Aayog report estimates that 78% of this population will have no form of pension.
Shriram Life caters primarily to rural and middle-income households, especially first-time insurance buyers earning ₹5-15 lakh annually — groups particularly vulnerable in retirement.
“We are already seeing traction in the pension and annuities space, with strong inflows from single-premium products,” Casparus said.
Navigating Growth and Competition
The life insurer reported a 21% year-on-year growth in individual new business premium to ₹257 crore for Q1FY26. The average ticket size rose to ₹24,799 from ₹15,192 in the year-ago period. Individual renewal premium grew 25% to ₹323 crore.
The rise in average ticket size also drove individual new business APE 9% to ₹215 crore in Q1FY26. Group insurance premium rose 36% to ₹283 crore.
However, Casparus flagged pricing pressure in the group segment following implementation of the special surrender value (SSV) guidelines in October 2024. “We’re seeing intense competition and unsustainable pricing. We don’t want to chase the top line growth at the cost of profitability.”
Investing for the Future
Shriram Life posted a net loss of ₹8 crore in Q1FY26, compared to a profit of ₹27 crore a year ago. Casparus attributed the loss to capacity-building efforts. “We’ve seen strong growth over the past three years, and we’re investing for the future, which will weigh on absolute profits for some time.”