The life insurance industry grew by around 60 per cent in new business in the first half of 2010-11 despite a slowdown in sales in September, according to data compiled by life insurance companies.

In September, the industry grew by 20 per cent on a year-on-year basis collecting Rs 9,613 crore in new business premium. However, the new business in September was almost 48 per cent lower than the previous month’s collection.

According to industry officials, most companies had aggressively pushed unit-linked plans in August before the implementation of the new ULIP guidelines. With the introduction of the new ULIPs in September, it took time for companies to train their agents to sell the products, leading to a slowdown, said officials.