LIC dismisses USTR’s report of insurer enjoying unfair competitive advantage

New Delhi, Apr 4: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Friday said it has been operating in a competitive market for 25 years and has not received any special treatment from the government, as it rejected US Trade Representative’s report.

“We firmly believe the USTR’s views are based on an incomplete understanding of Indian insurance regulation and LIC’s functioning,” the insurance firm said in a statement.

For the past 25 years, LIC has operated in a fully competitive market alongside 24 private life insurance companies, the statement said, adding, it is regulated by IRDAI and SEBI and receives no special treatment from the government or any regulatory authority.

Ahead of the Donald Trump administration’s reciprocal tariff move on Wednesday, the US Trade Representative (USTR) in a report had said India maintains “high” import duties on a wide range of American goods such as agricultural items, drug formulations, and alcoholic beverages, besides imposing non-tariff barriers.

The report also said that LIC gets favourable treatment from the government, making foreign insurance companies uncompetitive in the Indian market.

“Many customers choose to buy LIC policies over those offered by private insurers, giving LIC an unfair competitive advantage,” the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report published by the USTR said.

LIC, however, clarified that it is treated like any other insurance company by the government and regulators.

“We urge for a more balanced and factual appreciation of LIC’s role and contribution to financial inclusion and policyholder protection in India,” it said.

The guarantee -- provided at the time of its establishment in 1956 -- is a statutory provision designed to build public confidence in the early years of nationalisation. It has never been invoked or used as a marketing tool or provided any undue advantage to LIC.