Life Insurance Council launches 'Sabse Pehle Life Insurance' campaign to narrow India’s protection gap
Kolkata: The Life Insurance Council on Wednesday launched a national campaign, Sabse Pehle Life Insurance, aimed at reducing India’s growing life insurance protection gap.
Backed by an annual outlay of ₹150–160 crore for the next three years, the initiative will target young and working-age individuals, among whom the protection gap exceeds 90%.
The campaign is the next phase of the broader awareness drive, Achcha Kiya Insurance Liya, and is being spearheaded by the Council’s Insurance Awareness Committee, which represents all life insurers in the country.
According to a December 2023 study by the National Insurance Academy, India’s protection gap has widened from 83% in 2019 to 87% in 2023.
The campaign aims to reverse this trend by repositioning life insurance as the foundation of a secure financial plan—challenging the common habit of prioritising savings and investments over essential risk cover.
Planned as a year-long initiative, the campaign will be deployed across television, digital, print, and outdoor platforms in 10 regional languages to ensure broader reach and recall.
It will address both new-to-insurance audiences and existing policyholders, with a special focus on rural populations and women.
The digital knowledge hub — www.sabsepehlelifeinsurance.com — has also been upgraded as part of the campaign.
It offers simplified tools and resources to help individuals assess their coverage needs and make informed insurance decisions.
The initiative is in sync with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)'s 2024 mandate requiring life insurers to provide cover to at least 10% of lives across 25,000 Gram Panchayats.
In a bid to improve rural outreach, the Council is also exploring the development of budget-friendly, localised insurance products, especially tailored for women.
These efforts come amid strong performance across the insurance sector. According to IRDAI’s Handbook on Indian Insurance Statistics 2023–24, insurers settled 96.82% of life insurance claims within 30 days in FY24.
The Indian life insurance industry is currently growing at a CAGR of 9.5%, with projections indicating an acceleration to 10.5% annually over the next decade.
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