Established on November 28, 1996, BNI Life is a subsidiary of PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or BNI. As one of the largest bank in Indonesia established since 1946, BNI with asset (consolidated) of more than IDR 1,087 trillion (December 2023 period) has served the public through 2,122 outlets both domestically and abroad. In this year BNI has received a rating of "idAAA/Stable" from Pefindo (Corporate Rating), "Stable" from Moody's (Outlook), “bb+” from Fitch Rating (Viability Rating) and "Stable" from Standard & Poor’s (Outlook). BNI currently owns 60% of BNI Life shares.

The establishment of BNI Life is in line with BNI's goal to become an integrated financial service provider for all its customers (one stop financial service). In carrying out its business activities, BNI Life has obtained a business license in the field of Life Insurance based on the Minister of Finance Letter No.305/KMK.017.1997 dated July 7, 1997.

In early May 2014, Sumitomo Life Insurance Company or Sumitomo Life was officially becoming one of the shareholders of BNI Life with an ownership portion of approximately 40%. Sumitomo Life is one of the largest insurance companies in Japan.

As of March 2024, Sumitomo Life has received an “A+” rating from Standard & Poor’s, “A1” from Moody’s, “A+” from Fitch Ratings, “AA” from Rating and Investment Information, and “AA” from Japan Credit Rating Agency and. As of Financial Year 2023, Sumitomo Life has total consolidated assets worth more than USD 294.4 billion with more than 32,082 sales representatives and core business profit for the last 3 years of USD 9,177,159.60.

Armed with the reputation and strength of BNI's distribution channels and Sumitomo Life's knowledge and experience in the field of life insurance, BNI Life is here with a new strength that has better infrastructure and performance in providing services to the community.