Life Insurance Corporation Of India — Q3 FY26 earnings call

Call held 12 Feb 2026

Management summary

Life Insurance Corporation reported a strong performance for the nine months ended December 31, 2025, with significant growth across key financial metrics. Total Premium Income, PAT, and Net VNB all saw double-digit year-on-year increases, while AUM expanded and the expense ratio improved. The company also made notable progress in increasing its Non-Par business share and leveraging Bancassurance and Alternate Channels, despite a slight dip in overall policies sold and persistency ratios for certain cohorts.

Highlights

  • Total Premium Income grew by 9.02% YoY to ₹3,71,293 Crore.

  • Profit After Tax (PAT) increased by 16.68% YoY to ₹33,998 Crore.

  • Net Value of New Business (VNB) registered a growth of 27.96% YoY to ₹8,288 Crore.

  • Net VNB Margin improved by 170 basis points YoY to 18.8%.

  • Assets Under Management (AUM) grew by 8.01% YoY to ₹59,16,680 Crore.

  • Overall Expense Ratio decreased by 132 basis points YoY to 11.65%.

  • Non-Par share of Individual Annualized Premium Equivalent (APE) increased to 36.46% from 27.68% YoY, reflecting a 47.44% YoY increase in Non-Par APE.

  • Bancassurance and Alternate Channels (BAC) New Business Premium Income grew by 66.74% YoY to ₹3,341.37 Crore.

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 6.8%, net profit up 22.8% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue2,30,331 2,02,823 2,42,479 2,23,917 2,40,690 +4%2,35,467 +16%2,76,206 +14%2,39,145 +7%
EBITDA7,977 11,985 21,492 11,857 10,546 +32%14,080 +17%11,200 −48%13,936 +18%
Net profit7,621 11,056 19,013 10,987 10,053 +32%12,958 +17%23,420 +23%13,492 +23%
How to read this

₹ crore, as filed. The percentage beside a figure is the change against the same quarter a year earlier — never the quarter before, which would make every seasonal business look like it collapses and booms each year.

Segment breakdown

Share of Revenue
₹71,559 Cr Total
  • Individual Business APE ₹27,552 Cr 38.5%
  • Individual Par Business APE ₹17,507 Cr 24.5%
  • Group Business APE ₹16,455 Cr 23.0%
  • Individual Non-Par Business APE ₹10,045 Cr 14.0%

Guidance & targets

Government Shareholding

  • Government Shareholding Percentage Government Shareholding · by 2027 · High confidence 90%

    From 100% today

    That is, it will come down to 90% within a period of 5 years from the date of IPO, which is by 2027, we should be able to come down to that.

    — R. Doraiswamy

Market Share

  • Leadership Position Market Share · ongoing · High confidence maintain leadership
    We continue to maintain our leadership in the Indian life insurance market, across both individual and group business segments.

    — R. Doraiswamy

Profitability

  • Profitable Growth Profitability · ongoing · Medium confidence continuous sustained profitable growth
    The focus is on managing a continuous sustained profitable growth. Our focus will be to continuously to improve the new business performance and top line growth, so that the impact of expenses that happen like the input tax credit of GST or whatever it is, gets subsumed into the overall efficiency of the corporation.

    — R. Doraiswamy

Dividend

  • Dividend Payout Dividend · coming days · Medium confidence sustainable
    And sir already mentioned, we'll be sustaining so we are ensuring that the dividend is sustainable in coming days.

    — Sunil Agrawal

Digital Initiatives

  • Digital-savvy Interface Digital Initiatives · this calendar year · Medium confidence much more digital-savvy interface
    Many features and facilities have been activated, and many more will be launched this calendar year. I am sure that all of you will experience a much more digital-savvy interface in how LIC connects with you.

    — R. Doraiswamy

Health Insurance

  • Stake in Health Insurance Company Health Insurance · no particular deadline · Low confidence enhancing our stake
    And as a part of it, we are looking for enhancing our stake in a health insurance company. We are evaluating various options available in the market, but we don't have any particular deadline or any such immediate date by which we are looking at doing that.

    — R. Doraiswamy

Risks & concerns

  • Decline in Persistency Ratios

    medium

    Persistency ratios declined across most cohorts on both premium and policy count basis, attributed to low ticket size and higher payment frequency in older cohorts. Management is taking steps to improve.

    Management acknowledged

  • Impact of GST on VNB Margin

    medium

    The 2.8% operating impact on VNB margin includes GST. Management stated they are accommodating this through expense rationalization and increased affordability for customers.

    Analyst acknowledged

  • Market Share Loss

    low

    Analysts raised concerns about market share loss. Management attributed this to market expansion with new players and emphasized focus on sustainable growth rather than just market share percentage.

    Analyst downplayed

Areas of evasion (2)

  • Specific breakdown of the 2.8% operating impact on VNB margin (GST vs. persistency vs. expenses)
  • Concrete future dividend payout ratio/policy

Q&A highlights

2 direct
VNB margin drivers, economic assumptions (yield curve), GST impact, and product mix contribution. Direct
So, the favourable yield curve of Q3 of around 83 basis points -- 80 basis points, particularly of higher durations, that has impacted and contributed to an increase of 1.9%.

Clarifies the significant factors influencing the VNB margin improvement, including both positive economic factors and negative operational adjustments.

Asked by Madhukar from JP Morgan

Dividend payout policy given strong net worth and solvency. Partial
So, when we declare the results of the full financial year, we may be our Board will be taking a call so that our growth in the dividend pay-out is also sustainable.

Investors are keen on capital allocation and returns. Management defers a concrete answer, indicating uncertainty or ongoing internal discussions.

Asked by Gaurav Jain from ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and Dipanjan Ghosh from Citi

Persistency decline across cohorts and its impact on profitability. Direct
Our experience on persistency is that the low ticket size of policies have poorer persistency. And the low -- the frequency of payment, if it is higher, that is also having an adverse impact on the persistency.

Persistency is a key indicator of business quality and long-term profitability for an insurer. The decline is a concern, but management outlined reasons and mitigation strategies.

Asked by Shobhit Sharma

2 min read

Detailed narrative

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) reported a robust performance for the nine months ended December 31, 2025 (9MFY26), demonstrating significant growth across key financial and operational metrics. The company's Total Premium Income surged by 9.02% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹3,71,293 Crore. This growth was supported by a 5.89% increase in Individual New Business Premium Income to ₹44,941 Crore and a substantial 13.56% rise in Group Business Total Premium Income to ₹1,35,302 Crore. Profit After Tax (PAT) also saw a healthy increase of 16.68% YoY, reaching ₹33,998 Crore.

Operational efficiency improved, with the Net Value of New Business (VNB) growing by 27.96% YoY to ₹8,288 Crore, and the Net VNB Margin expanding by 170 basis points to 18.8%. The Assets Under Management (AUM) reached ₹59,16,680 Crore, marking an 8.01% YoY growth. LICI maintained its leadership in the Indian life insurance market, with a 57.07% market share by First Year Premium Income. A strategic shift towards Non-Par products was evident, with the Non-Par share of Individual Annualized Premium Equivalent (APE) increasing significantly to 36.46% from 27.68% in the prior year, representing a 47.44% YoY increase in Non-Par APE.

The company's distribution channels showed mixed results. While the overall number of policies sold saw a slight decrease, the Bancassurance and Alternate Channels (BAC) demonstrated exceptional growth, with New Business Premium Income soaring by 66.74% YoY to ₹3,341.37 Crore. BAC now contributes 7.45% of Individual New Business Premium, up from 4.73% YoY. The agency workforce also expanded to 14,72,370 agents. Claims processing remained efficient, with maturity claims increasing by 14.13% to ₹1,68,613 Crore and death claims by 3.23% to ₹18,156 Crore.

During the Q&A session, management addressed analyst concerns regarding VNB margin drivers, attributing improvements to a favorable yield curve and business mix, while acknowledging a 2.8% operating impact including GST. They also discussed the decline in persistency ratios, explaining it was primarily due to older cohorts with low ticket sizes and high payment frequencies, and outlined ongoing interventions to improve these metrics. On the dividend payout policy, management indicated that the Board would make a decision after the full financial year results, emphasizing sustainability. The company also confirmed its evaluation of opportunities to enhance its stake in a health insurance company, without a specific timeline.

Management expressed a bullish outlook, confident in delivering on commitments related to product mix, channel mix, profitability, and cost-effectiveness. They highlighted ongoing digital initiatives, including the DIVE project, aimed at enhancing customer and distributor interfaces. While the company provided extensive financial data, specific quantitative guidance for future financial performance beyond the regulatory target of reducing government shareholding to 90% by 2027 remained limited, with most forward-looking statements being directional. The persistency decline, though explained, remains a key area of focus for the company.

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