Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) should accelerate adoption of digital and mobile-first platforms to widen insurance coverage and improve service delivery, the Department of Financial Services secretary said on Friday.
Speaking at a strategy meeting of LIC, M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, urged the state-owned insurer to place technology at the centre of its growth strategy as it works towards expanding insurance penetration.
Nagaraju said LIC’s role extended beyond that of a conventional insurer, noting that its designation as a Domestic Systemically Important Insurer by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India linked its stability closely to that of the broader financial system.
He said LIC had moved significantly away from its traditional brick and mortar model and now relied increasingly on digital infrastructure to support product development, sales and customer engagement.
“LIC has undergone a historic transformation,” Nagaraju said, adding that it had emerged as a value driven, digital first financial institution.
A central element of this shift is Project DIVE, LIC’s flagship technology initiative. The programme includes the rollout of a marketing technology platform, sales and customer super apps, a unified data lake and integration of digital processes across the policy lifecycle. The project is targeted for completion by late 2026.
Nagaraju said the digital and mobile-first push was essential to achieving the national objective of “Insurance for All”, as technology enabled platforms could make insurance products more accessible and easier to service, particularly for first-time and low-ticket policyholders.
LIC is reshaping product portfolio
LIC has also been reshaping its product portfolio, with a move towards higher growth non-participating products. These include customisable unit linked insurance plans, return of premium offerings and term insurance products such as Yuva Term, Digi Term and Index Plus, which are aimed at younger customers.
Distribution remains a key pillar of LIC’s operations. Under the Jeevan Samarth initiative, its agency force has expanded to more than 1.48 million agents, with recruitment focused on the 18 to 40 age group. Digital tools are increasingly being deployed to support agent productivity and customer follow-up.
Women-focused distribution has been strengthened through the Bima Sakhi programme. About 290,000 women agents have sold more than 1.4 million policies and extended insurance coverage to over half of India’s panchayats. Officials said coverage across all panchayats was expected within the next year.
On the financial side, LIC’s consolidated assets under management stood at ₹57.23 lakh crore, with a yield of 8.9 percent on policyholders’ funds and a solvency ratio of 2.13, according to figures presented at the meeting.
Nagaraju said the insurer’s capital base could also support broader economic priorities, including infrastructure, renewable energy, start-ups and alternative investment funds.
He also highlighted the need to improve persistency ratios, particularly among smaller ticket policies, through sustained engagement and follow-up supported by digital systems.
The strategy meeting included discussions on marketing, technology transformation, human resources and strategic asset allocation, and was attended by senior LIC executives and other stakeholders from the financial sector.
Concluding his address, Nagaraju reiterated that wider use of digital marketing and mobile-first platforms would be critical to expanding coverage and improving customer experience.
