Concentration within Bangladesh’s life insurance sector reached striking levels during the second quarter of the year, with a handful of leading institutions capturing the vast majority of premium earnings. Unaudited financial reports submitted to the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) reveal that just five out of 34 operating life insurance companies generated 70.5 per cent of the total gross premium income between April and June.
Industry data compiled by IDRA indicates that aggregate gross premiums across 34 life insurers reached 3,261.86 crore Taka in the second quarter. First-year premium earnings, representing vital new business acquisitions, accounted for 816.19 crore Taka of the total. Two registered entities failed to submit their financial documentation for the reporting period.
American multinational insurer MetLife Bangladesh and locally based National Life Insurance spearheaded the market by a massive margin. MetLife secured the top position with a gross premium income of 987.84 crore Taka, whilst National Life Insurance claimed second place with 574.59 crore Taka. Combined, these two behemoths amassed 1,562.43 crore Taka, representing nearly 48 per cent of the entire sector’s revenue. Delta Life Insurance, Guardian Life Insurance, and Sonali Life Insurance followed, recording gross premiums of 261.49 crore Taka, 258.24 crore Taka, and 217.77 crore Taka respectively. Together, these five market leaders accrued 2,299.93 crore Taka.
A similar pattern emerged in first-year premium collections, where MetLife Bangladesh gathered 181.19 crore Taka and National Life Insurance collected 167.29 crore Taka. Their combined total of 348.48 crore Taka accounted for 42.7 per cent of all new policy earnings nationwide. Sonali Life, Delta Life, and Guardian Life generated 84.50 crore Taka, 59.84 crore Taka, and 49.69 crore Taka in new business respectively, with Pragati Life, Popular Life, and Alpha Islami Life also crossing the 30 crore Taka threshold.
Explaining their strong performance, Kazim Uddin, Chief Executive Officer of National Life Insurance, attributed their sustained growth to earned public trust, prompt claim settlements, robust life funds, and sound investment management strategies.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, several struggling insurers recorded negligible earnings. Baira Life Insurance generated a mere 2 lakh Taka in total gross premiums and zero Taka in first-year business. Diamond Life Insurance managed 1.13 crore Taka, Sunflower Life Insurance collected 1.41 crore Taka, and Homeland Life Insurance recorded 1.86 crore Taka.
Baira Life’s CEO, Nur Mohammad Bhuiyan, clarified that a long-standing regulatory ban on issuing new policies severely impacted their performance, though IDRA has recently lifted the restriction, allowing the firm to prepare for business resumption. Meanwhile, Md. Rafiquzzaman, CEO of Diamond Life, noted that their earnings dipped due to agent commission complications and a major corporate transition in June, during which a Sri Lankan entity acquired a 60 per cent stake in the company.
Despite the severe divergence between market leaders and underperforming firms, overall industry performance demonstrated positive quarter-on-quarter expansion. Total gross premiums grew from 2,915.60 crore Taka across 36 companies in the first quarter to 3,261.86 crore Taka in the second quarter, while first-year premiums rose from 647.16 crore Taka to 816.19 crore Taka.
