The collection of life insurance premium in the country by insurers in the April-January period as the absence of lack of pension and unit-linked insurance products continued to take a toll on the industry players.

The insurers in the country collected Rs 81,496.68 crore through new policies in the period compared to Rs 95,000 crore in the same period previous year, a fall of 14.21 per cent. In the April-January period, premium collection by private life insurance companies alone fell 20 per cent to Rs 22,351.32 crore.

India's leading insurer, the state-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India issued five per cent fewer new policies in the same period. The company's first-year premium collection fell 12 per cent to Rs 59,145.36 crore against Rs 67,135.31 crore in the same period previous year.

The sales of life insurance polices in the country fell 11.12 per cent to 31.15 million policies compared to 35.05 million policies in the same period previous year, according to latest data released by the regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda).

Meanwhile, the general insurance industry has recorded a growth of around 20 per cent in the preiosu compared to the same period previous year.