Life Insurance Corporation

Life Insurance Corporation

Personal information
Full name	Life Insurance Corporation
Company type	public
Founded	(1991-09-05) 1 September 1956 (69 year ago) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)is an Indian public sector life insurance company headquartered in Mumbai.It is India's largest insurance company and its largest institutional investor with total assets under management worth ₹54.52 lakh crore (US$640 billion) as of March 2025.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has its origins in India’s early insurance movement, which began with the Oriental Life Insurance Company established in Kolkata in 1818. Over the following decades, several insurers such as Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society and other domestic firms emerged despite turbulent economic and political conditions, including the Revolt of 1857 and the two World Wars. However, many companies struggled due to instability, leading to low public confidence in life insurance services.
In 1956, after parliamentarian Feroze Gandhi exposed cases of insurance fraud involving private insurers, the Government of India nationalised 245 insurance companies and provident societies to form LIC. The move aimed to protect policyholders and restore trust in the insurance sector. LIC was established as a state-owned monopoly, consolidating the fragmented insurance market under one entity to ensure financial security and wider insurance penetration across the country.
Decades later, LIC entered the capital markets when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the 2021 Union Budget. The IPO opened in May 2022, with the government diluting a 3.5% stake and raising around ₹21,000 crore, valuing the company at nearly ₹6 lakh crore. Since listing, LIC’s market value has seen notable growth, although by early 2025 its listed holdings declined from $177 billion in December 2024 to $166.5 billion, reflecting a temporary mark-to-market loss.

As of 2025, the Government of India remains the majority shareholder in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), holding around 96.5% of the total equity after diluting a 3.5% stake through its May 2022 IPO. The remaining shares are publicly held by domestic institutional investors, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), mutual funds, retail investors, and a reserved portion allotted to LIC policyholders at the time of listing, while the government continues to retain management control and majority ownership.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has built a dominant business career as India’s largest life insurer since its formation in 1956, expanding from a state-run monopoly to a market leader competing with private insurers after sector liberalisation in 2000. The corporation offers a wide range of products including term insurance, endowment plans, whole life policies, pension and annuity schemes, ULIPs, and group insurance, supported by one of the largest agency networks in the country. LIC also plays a key role as a major institutional investor in Indian equity and debt markets, holding significant stakes in listed companies and government securities. With millions of policyholders and a strong rural and urban presence, LIC continues to be a cornerstone of India’s insurance and financial services sector.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is guided by an ideology centered on social security, financial inclusion, and nation-building. Its core mission is to provide life insurance protection to every segment of society, including rural and economically weaker sections, while mobilizing public savings for national economic development. As a state-backed institution, LIC balances commercial objectives with social responsibility, aiming to safeguard policyholders’ interests, ensure long-term financial stability, and contribute to infrastructure growth and capital market development in India.

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