List of Insurance Companies in India

Insurance policies can come to your aid and deliver financial assistance when the need arises. Emergencies can occur at any time, whether medical or otherwise, which is the precise time when such insurance plans come into effect.

However, before you can learn more about insurance in general, you should be able to categorise them based on type.

Broadly, you can divide insurance policies into two types, namely life and general insurance. While life insurance policies indicate just one policy, general insurance can be divided further into subcategories.

For any policyholder, distinguishing between life and general insurance plans is integral.

Differences between Life and General Insurance?

Factors	Life Insurance	General Insurance
Definition	Covers an individual’s life for a certain sum of money. Upon death of the insured, this money is paid out to next of kin.	All insurance plans, which cannot be classified as life insurance, is known as general insurance policies.
Investment or Insurance	Life insurance is a form of investment.	General insurance policies act as a contract of indemnity.
Contract Tenure	Long term	Short term
Insurance Claim	The sum insured is disbursed as death benefit or upon the maturity of life insurance policy.	Financial reimbursement for unexpected loss or damage of the insured object or person.
Policy Value	A policyholder decides the value of life insurance policy, which is reflected on the policy premiums.	General insurance claims or reimbursement amount on the loss amount suffered by the policyholder.
Insurance Holder	The policyholder must be present when the life insurance contract is being drawn out.	The policyholder must be present during the creation and enforcement of the contract.
Premium	Premium for life insurance plans are payable throughout the year.	General insurance premiums are cleared at once through lump-sum payments.

Now that you can tell life insurance from general insurance, let’s learn more about the various insurance companies offering such plans in India.

List of Life Insurance Companies in India

Company name	Founding year	Headquarter location
Life Insurance Corporation of India	1956	Mumbai
Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2000	New Delhi
HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd	2000	Mumbai
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2000	Mumbai
Aditya Birla SunLife Insurance Co. Ltd.	2000	Mumbai
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2001	Mumbai
Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2008	Gurugram
TATA AIA Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2000	Mumbai
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2001	Pune
SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2001	Mumbai
Exide Life Insurance Co. Ltd	2001	Bengaluru
Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company	2001	Mumbai
Sahara India Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2000	Kanpur
Aviva Life Insurance Company India Ltd.	2002	Gurugram
PNB MetLife India Insurance Co. Ltd	2001	Mumbai
Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd	2005	Mumbai
IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Limited	2008	Mumbai
Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited	2006	Mumbai
Shriram Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2005	Hyderabad
Aegon Life Insurance Company Limited	2008	Mumbai
Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited	2007	Gurugram
Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company Limited	2009	Mumbai
Star Union Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd.	2007	Mumbai
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd.	2009	Mumbai

List of General Insurance Companies in India

Company name	Founding year	Headquarter location
National Insurance Co. Ltd.	1906	Kolkata
Go Digit General Insurance Ltd.	2016	Bengaluru
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2001	Pune
Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2001	Chennai
Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2008	Mumbai
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2002	Mumbai
Future Generali India Insurance Co. Ltd.	2007	Mumbai
The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.	1919	Mumbai
Iffco Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2000	Gurugram
Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2000	Mumbai
Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2001	Chennai
The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.	1947	New Delhi
Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2001	Mumbai
SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2009	Mumbai
Acko General Insurance Ltd.	2016	Mumbai
Navi General Insurance Ltd.	2016	Mumbai
Edelweiss General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2016	Mumbai
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2001	Mumbai
Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2015	Mumbai
Liberty General Insurance Ltd.	2013	Mumbai
Magma HDI General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2009	Kolkata
Raheja QBE General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2007	Mumbai
Shriram General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2006	Jaipur
United India Insurance Co. Ltd.	1938	Chennai
Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd.	2007	Mumbai
Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd.	2002	New Delhi
Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd.	2015	Mumbai
Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Company Limited	2012	Mumbai
ECGC Ltd.	1957	Mumbai
Max Bupa Health Insurance Co. Ltd	2008	New Delhi
Care Health Insurance Ltd	2012	Gurgaon
Star Health & Allied Insurance Co. Ltd.	2006	Chennai

Before picking general insurance or life insurance policy, you must perform adequate research on the same. This will allow you to pick the plan, which offers the most value for money.

Make sure to check the features of a policy, instead of deciding based on the premium rate alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

✓ What is the primary difference between life and general insurance?

Life insurance policies cover the insured individual’s life against a substantial sum of funds for a fixed tenure. If the insured dies during this period, his/her family members are liable to receive this coverage amount from the life insurer as death benefit. However, death benefit clauses are not present in general insurance plans.

✓ What are the benefits of a life insurance policy apart from death benefit?

You should think of life insurance plans as a form of investment. You pay a sum of money as premium throughout the policy tenure.

If the insured outlives this tenure, insurance companies offer a substantial return, based on the amount of premiums you serviced for the policy. Nevertheless, after expiry, the insured’s family member cannot claim death benefit.

✓ How is the claim value determined in case of general insurance policies?

In case of general insurance plans, the claim amount is determined by the extent of damage or the amount of loss suffered by the policyholder.

For instance, in case of a car insurance claim, the insurer will check the extent of damage and assess the cost of initiating repairs. Based on this assessment, the insurance company offers monetary compensation.

However, in the case of life insurance policies, the payout or claim amount remains the same irrespective of other factors.

✓ What is the difference in tenure ranges between general and life insurance policies?

Life insurance plans are long-term contracts, which can range up to 30-40 years in some cases. Therefore, middle-aged individuals opting for such policies can look to secure financial backing for family members in the event of their demise.

General insurance policies have a shorter term, generally between one year and three years. Policyholders can choose to renew coverage before their existing protection lapses.

Failure to renew these plans will lead to suspension of all policy benefits after the end of a particular tenure.