Cost Efficiency of Indian Life Insurance Service Providers using Data Envelopment Analysis

Abstract

This study examines the cost efficiency of Indian life insurance service providers using Data Envelopment Analysis. The study was performed for a sample of fifteen of the major life insurance companies in India, accounting for 94.77% of the total market for life insurance in India, over the period of 2010-17. The study extends the scope of cost efficiency by disaggregating the premium collection into components. Also, to provide more detailed insights, the efficiency of the life insurance companies is also analysed with respect to each input and output individually.

The results of the study show that the most efficient Indian life insurance companies are Life Insurance Corporation, which has been consistently 100% efficient throughout the research period, followed by SBI Life and ICICI Prudential Life, which have also shown consistently high efficiency over the research period. On the other hand, the least efficient life insurance companies are Max New York Life, followed by PNB Met Life, Reliance Life, and Bharati AXA Life. The results of the study also indicate the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian life insurance providers.