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.
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.
Following the notification allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, the Finance Ministry has revised norms to remove the requirement that a majority of directors and key management personnel in an insurance company with foreign investment be Indian residents.
As of March 25, life insurers have paid Rs 1,986 crore towards 25,500 Covid death claims
'While we expand into other areas, banca remains our primary channel, and we continue to be a banca-led organisation.'
Indian listed companies experienced their fastest revenue growth in 15 quarters during Q1FY27, with combined net sales rising 18.4% year-on-year, while net profit grew 16%, primarily driven by mining, metals, and banking sectors, despite a contraction in operating margins due to higher input costs.
'The government is putting insurance in the same category as food, which is essential for life.' 'Now this is an opportunity for the sector to focus on the consumer.'
If you quit or change jobs in your 40s, buying an individual term plan will be expensive. You might not even get one if you have health problems, says Priya Nair
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
'We strongly believe that anyone with capability and a strong work ethic should have a chance at the top job.'
Indian stock markets this week will be primarily influenced by a series of corporate Q1 earnings, the evolving geopolitical situation in West Asia, and fluctuations in crude oil prices, according to market analysts.
The Indian government is accelerating its sale of minority stakes in state-owned companies, including a significant offer for sale (OFS) in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) expected "very soon," to meet its 80,000 crore mobilisation target and reduce its holdings to 75 per cent in most listed PSUs by year-end.
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has launched two new mobile applications, MyLIC for policyholders and Super Sales Saathi for its sales intermediaries, aiming to enhance digital agility and cater to the younger generation's needs. The apps, part of LIC's DIVE digital transformation platform, offer features like policy management, premium payments, and personalised recommendations.
New India Assurance and Niva Bupa have invested in the Bima Sugam India Federation.
With momentum building around the IPO, the NSE saw a surge in retail investors in the last two years, making it one of the widely traded stocks in the unlisted market.
The unclaimed funds within the life insurance sector are higher from policies sold by agents as against other channels like bancassurance or a digital platform, said analysts and officials from insurance companies. Unclaimed life insurance funds refer to the proceeds of insurance policies including death or survival benefits not claimed by the beneficiary or the policyholder. Bancassurance means selling an insurance product through banks.
HDFC Life, which posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 281.83 crore (Rs 2.81 billion) for the quarter ended June compared with Rs 11.92 crore (Rs 119.2 million) in corresponding period last year (according to HDFC's first quarter results), has diversified its distribution mix.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is expected to file its preliminary IPO papers with Sebi next week, marking a significant step forward for the long-awaited public offering which has been delayed for nearly a decade due to regulatory issues.
'Some of the astounding proposals, if translated into statutory provisions, would be suicidal.' 'This would not be a wonder cure for increasing insurance penetration and only result in mushrooming growth of players like paan kiosks with deleterious consequences.'
An employee whose financial future is 60-80 per cent dependent on a single company's growth trajectory has no genuine safety net.
'Wages have not risen. Rural wages have stagnated. The growth was 0.7 per cent last year. For casual and irregular labour, the wage growth is negative.'
'PowerBank-50 is now space proven, made in India, and ready for every satellite builder in the world.'
Interoperability with other insurance companies - apart from banks, medical centres, among others - would be the eventual goal
The Indian insurance industry is set to focus on customer-centric technological adoption and expansion into rural areas to drive growth in 2025.
Some of the key names include: Maruti, M&M, Ashok Leyland, Britannia, Ultratech, JK Cement, Havells, Voltas, Amber, Metro, Trent, LemonTree, Indian Hotels, Niva Bupa, HDFC Life, IGL, Acme Solar, Suzlon, Swiggy, Delhivery, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance," according to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
'At the end of the day, it is just another technology produced by the human mind.'
The Saral Jeevan Bima product to be offered by all life insurance companies will be a non-linked non-participating individual pure-risk premium life insurance plan.
Moving to a new company means losing out on continuity benefits
'It is imprudent on the part of Indian insurance companies to invest out of the shareholders' fund in a private limited company.'
LIC said USTR's views are based on an incomplete understanding of Indian insurance regulation and LIC's functioning.
Come October, life insurers may have to tighten their underwriting standards further for retail term plans at the behest of one of the largest reinsurers in the Indian insurance market, Munich Re. According to a source aware of the development, "Munich Re has been studying long-term mortality trends for the past few years, and has suggested some tightening in the underwriting process." "As far as financial underwriting is concerned, the reinsurer has suggested that insurers should ask for additional documents. "For example, apart from income proof, they can ask for bank statements of the prospective customer before issuing policies," added the source.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Male central government employees are entitled to 15 days under service rules and provisions in the private sector depends on the company's policy.
'LIC will reduce but not fully exit its stake in IDBI Bank, which remains an important bancassurance partner,' says LIC of India' MD and CEO R Doraiswamy.
'We are staying away from making forward-looking statements on when we will reach 1 trillion, etc. But growth will be rapid; it's only a matter of time.'
Life insurance companies assert that the blockchain being created has strict protocols to leave no room for manipulation and exploitation, or unauthorised use of customer data and personal information.
Contrary to expectations, the new business premium (NBP) of life insurance companies dropped 12.62 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in March 2023 due to an over 30 per cent drop in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India's premiums, albeit on a high base. Data released by the Life Insurance Council shows the industry racked up NBP of Rs 52,081 crore in March 2023, compared with Rs 59,608.83 crore in the year-ago period. NBP is the premium acquired from new policies in a year. It is the sum of the first-year premium and single premium, reflecting the total premium received from new businesses.
'Investment by insurers in the Bima Sugam India Federation is illegal as it is a private limited company.'
General insurance companies are likely to see a surge in demand for health insurance in the coming months due to falling air quality in the country. The health insurance segment has registered a strong growth after the pandemic due to higher awareness. In the first half of financial year 2023-24, the segment grew by 24.4 per cent to Rs 54,713.52 crore from Rs 43,981.54 crore in H1FY23, driving growth of the non-life insurance industry.
Cognizant has announced the launch of Technoverse Hackathon 2026, a national platform for engineering students to demonstrate AI-powered problem-solving skills in various industries. The hackathon aims to bridge academic learning with real-world applications and promote innovation.
