LIC Q2 Profit Up 20% to Rs 12,076 Crore; First-Year Premium Dips

Life Insurance Corporation of India reported a 20% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 12,076 crore for the July-September 2026 quarter, up from Rs 10,053 crore a year earlier, in results announced on 5 November. Net premium income grew 16.2% to Rs 1,47,018 crore, but first-year premium, the measure of new business, slipped to Rs 10,432 crore from Rs 10,836 crore, according to the company’s numbers as reported by The Hans India and The New Indian Express.

Fewer New Premiums, Weak ULIP Sales

For policyholders and prospective buyers, the clearest signal is in what LIC is selling. Managing Director and CEO R Doraiswamy said buyers of unit-linked plans (ULIPs) are “impacted by market sentiment”, and linked the dip in first-year premium to weak markets. The Economic Times reported that he also blamed small-ticket policies for a fall in persistency, the share of policies that stay in force, and that LIC is pushing sales towards higher premium sizes.

Renewal premium rose to Rs 68,375 crore from Rs 64,996 crore, which accounts for most of the growth in premium income. Total income was Rs 2,62,739 crore against Rs 2,39,614 crore a year earlier.

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Margins Up 470 Basis Points in Six Months

The profit rise follows a year-earlier base of Rs 10,053 crore. For the first six months of the year, LIC’s value of new business (VNB) rose 33.95% to Rs 6,846 crore from Rs 5,111 crore, and the net VNB margin improved to 22.3% from 17.6%. Doraiswamy said the shift to larger tickets could lift margins further in the third and fourth quarters.

LIC has also told the insurance regulator IRDAI that it wants alignment with global standards and a glide path for compliance on the regulator’s proposed limits on distribution commission and expenses, Mint reported. Doraiswamy said some product lines may be affected. Other lenders reported their own September-quarter numbers last month; see IPB’s reports on ICICI Bank’s Q2 profit and Yes Bank’s Q2 profit.

Q3 Is the Deciding Quarter

Doraiswamy said October-December will show whether LIC’s new bank tie-ups, including those with RBL Bank and Yes Bank, bring in business. The IRDAI proposals are still at the consultation stage, and the final commission limits are not yet known.

Source: Based on reporting by The Hans India, The New Indian Express, The Economic Times and Mint.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.