HDFC Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance have reported double-digit growth in profitability for the first quarter of FY27, buoyed by healthy premium collections and increased investment income, with HDFC Life's net profit rising 11.9% and ICICI Pru's by 27.8%.
Major life insurers in India reported close to double-digit growth in the value of new business (VNB) last financial year, primarily driven by increased sales of high-margin protection and non-participating (non-par) products.
HDFC Life Insurance reported a 4 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to Rs 495.6 crore for Q4FY26, while its parent, HDFC Bank, announced a Rs 1,000 crore preferential share issuance to raise its stake to 50.5 per cent.
The loss of input tax credit (ITC) following the rationalisation of the goods and services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance from 18 per cent to nil is may weigh on the profits of life insurers in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025-26 (FY26).
The life insurance industry recorded nearly 40 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in new business premiums (NBP), aided by the rationalisation of goods and services tax (GST) on individual life insurance premiums, which has made policies more affordable for consumers.
Shares of Indian life insurance companies, particularly SBI Life Insurance and Canara HSBC Life Insurance, saw significant declines after the Department of Financial Services (DFS) secretary, M Nagaraju, stated that banks are being asked to avoid exclusive tie-ups with their own insurance subsidiaries and instead remain neutral.
Premature surrender and withdrawal of life insurance policies in India have surpassed maturity payouts over the past five years, indicating a growing trend of policyholders exiting long-term policies before their full tenure, according to data presented in the Lok Sabha.
The 13th-month persistency rate of life insurers - an important metric indicating the retention of new policies - declined in the first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26). This fall was primarily driven by a lower share of high-value policies, following taxation changes implemented in April 2023.
New business premiums of life insurance companies dropped 5.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in August to Rs 30,959 crore, owing to a double-digit decline reported by state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), data from the Life Insurance Council showed. LIC recorded a 17 per cent YoY fall in new business premiums to Rs 16,023 crore during the month, while private life insurers reported a 12 per cent YoY increase to Rs 14,936 crore.
Axis Bank has opened 50 new branches across India, while Abakkus Mutual Fund has surpassed Rs 10,000 crore in AUM. YES Bank launched a new credit card for women, and J&K Bank partnered with HDFC Life to enhance its insurance offerings, showcasing significant growth and strategic developments in the Indian financial sector.
Some of the leading life insurance companies have reported a sharp decline in the number of lives covered in FY25, largely due to a slowdown in credit-linked life insurance policies. Stress in the microfinance segment has reduced loan disbursements and, in turn, the flow of new customers to insurers.
Potential external candidates include Anup Bagchi, Rajiv Sabharwal and CSB Bank's Pralay Mondal.
Private players continued to show strong momentum in the life insurance individual new business segment during August, 2023. On an aggregate, the industry registered 14 per cent growth year-on-year (Y-o-Y) compared to 15 per cent in July '23. Private players were up 21 per cent Y-o-Y, up from 16 per cent Y-o-Y in July '23, while public insurers' growth was muted at 3 per cent.
Indian insurance companies are bracing for reduced profitability in Q4FY26, primarily due to the rationalisation of GST on retail life and health policies, leading to a loss of input tax credit, coupled with volatility in equity markets impacting investment income.
HDFC Life Insurance Company on Thursday said it has received GST demand orders of over Rs 27 crore for alleged short payment of taxes. In two separate regulatory filings, the insurer said it has received tax demand orders of over Rs 16.5 crore and Rs 10.5 crore from authorities for alleged short payment of GST and input tax credit claim mismatch.
The life insurance industry reported a 25.28 per cent decline in new business premium income in November 2023 to Rs 26,494.83 crore from Rs 34,588.8 crore recorded a year ago. The fall in group premium and change in taxation norms for policies with a higher ticket size dragged the premiums of the state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and private insurers, respectively. According to the data released by the Life Insurance Council, the premium of private insurers slipped 9.33 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 10,360.29 crore from Rs 11,426.73 crore as a result of a change in product mix due to the measures taken to counter the impact of tax imposed on the premiums of Rs 5 lakh.
The data for individual weighted received premium (WRP) showed divergent trends for life insurers in December 2024. Overall, the industry's individual WRP grew 4.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y); LIC's individual WRP declined 13 per cent while private players saw 11.4 per cent growth.
The Reserve Bank of India has approved a three-month extension for Keki Mistry as the interim chairman of HDFC Bank, continuing his tenure until September 18, 2026, or until a regular chairman is appointed.
Life insurance companies reported a 13.16 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in new business premium (NBP), totting up Rs 30,347 crore in October, even as the number of policies sold saw a sharp decline. The growth was largely driven by strong performance from private sector life insurers.
The new business premium (NBP) of life insurance companies dropped 21.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 30,218.71 crore in December 2024 on the back of a steep fall in business. According to data published by the Life Insurance Council, LIC's premium dropped 41.15 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 13,523.87 crore while private insurers reported 7 per cent growth in NBP to Rs 16,694.85 crore as the industry absorbs the impact of the revised surrender value norms.
Private life insurers experienced reasonable growth in the July-September quarter (second quarter, or Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24), and the October data is also encouraging. The individual weighted received premium (WRP) for private players grew by 19.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in October. However, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India had slower growth, pulling the industry growth rate down to 13 per cent Y-o-Y.
HDFC Life Insurance Company (HDFC Life) delivered a strong performance in the December quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25), exceeding market expectations with robust earnings growth. The company reported a 13.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in net profit to Rs 414.9 crore in the quarter. The value of new business (VNB) rose 8.6 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 930 crore, compared to Rs 856 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Newly listed companies Vedanta Aluminium Metal, SBI Funds Management and Manipal Health Enterprises have entered the Rs 1 trillion mcap list since March 2026.
The combined market valuation of four of India's top-10 most valued firms eroded by Rs 87,960.29 crore last week, with Bharti Airtel experiencing the largest decline, amidst a bearish trend in the equities market.
Private life insurers are expected to deliver decent growth in the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year (Q1FY24) on the back of stronger group business performance and easing supply-side constraints on individual protection. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), though, is likely to see a decline. Healthy 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY) retail annual premium equivalent (APE) growth for private players, coupled with 11 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in LIC, will pull retail APE growth to a mere 3 per cent YoY in June 2023.
The initial public offer (IPO) of SBI Funds Management Ltd was fully subscribed on the second day of bidding, receiving bids for 1.17 times the shares on offer, with strong interest from non-institutional investors and anchor investors.
All the four listed private life insurance companies recorded a drop in value of new business (VNB) margin in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) as compared to FY23. This is because of a higher share of unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) in the product mix. VNB is a measure of the economic value of profits expected to emerge from a new business.
Bupa and Axa have already declared their intention to raise stakes.
State-backed Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) recorded strong growth in the value of new business (VNB) margin in the third quarter of financial year 2023-24 (Q3FY24) while major listed private life insurers reported a weak performance. VNB refers to the profit that an insurer is likely to garner from new business, which comes from policies sold in a particular period. VNB margin is the profit margin of the insurer.
The insurance industry is trying to get to grips with provisions in the proposed Insurance Amendment Bill, which gives additional powers to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), while there is ambiguity in the very definition of the insurance business, according to industry experts.
Both the life and non-life insurance segment posted over 20 per cent premium growth in November for the first time in this financial year (FY26), supported by the reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on premiums from 18 per cent to zero and a favourable base effect.
'As our per capita income increases and various demographic segments emerge, the need for various kinds of protection and risk covers will become even more explicit.'
As of March 25, life insurers have paid Rs 1,986 crore towards 25,500 Covid death claims
Life insurance companies are balancing the increasing use of celebrity endorsers by limiting the association to short, event-led campaigns.
Deepak Satwalekar, managing director and CEO, HDFC Standard Life Insurance, confirmed that the company would be hitting the capital market very soon. Satwalekar said that the company was planning an IPO and its nitty gritty was yet to be sorted out.
The new labour Codes, notified by the central government in November 2025, have pushed up employee costs for private-sector banks and insurance companies, with these firms reporting higher operating expenses in the October-December quarter (Q3FY26) due to the statutory impact of the new labour Codes.
The combined market valuation of five of India's top-10 most valued firms eroded by Rs 1 lakh crore last week, with IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) experiencing the largest decline amidst a bearish trend in domestic equities.
State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has reported a net profit of over Rs 23,400 crore for the January-March quarter, making it the highest profit-making firm in the Indian financial sector during this period, surpassing major banks like SBI and HDFC Bank.
The top 500 listed companies had 860 women directors or board members overall.
In HDFC Life, the company has to pare 1.43 per cent, and in HDFC Ergo, it has to pare only 0.58 per cent.
