Shares of life insurance companies, particularly SBI Life Insurance and Canara HSBC Life Insurance, experienced significant declines on Tuesday. SBI Life's shares closed 3.32% lower at ₹1,915, recovering from an intra-day low of ₹1,892.50, while Canara HSBC Life dropped 4.36% to ₹143.80. This downturn followed comments from M Nagaraju, secretary at the Department of Financial Services, advocating for banks to avoid exclusive partnerships with their own insurance subsidiaries. Analysts from Emkay highlighted that exclusive bancassurance models reduce distribution costs and allow insurers to offer more affordable products. They cautioned that forcing banks to adopt an open-architecture model could reverse these cost advantages, ultimately leading to higher prices for consumers. The Economic Survey earlier this year emphasized the need for the insurance sector to cut costs to improve affordability and increase market penetration. Despite growth in revenue, private life insurers are struggling with stagnant net profits due to rising acquisition costs, which threaten their financial stability.