“We expect to sustain this momentum and grow in line with the industry in FY27.”Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, HDFC Life
Mumbai:HDFC Life Insurance. the second largest private life insurer, posted a 13.6% rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by higher premium income, with analysts saying sales through parent HDFC Bank are picking up, aiding growth.
Profit stood at Rs 508 crore for the quarter ended September 30, up from Rs 447 crore a year earlier.
HDFC Life’s net premium income rose nearly 16% to Rs 21,727 crore during the reporting period..
Over the past year, HDFC Life has grappled with weaker sales through its parent amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of banks’ distribution of financial products and intense competition.
Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, HDFC Life, said,“in Q2, individual weighted received premium (WRP) grew 11%, ahead of the private industry at 10%. This took our H1 growth to 9%,
with market share improving to 16.2% from 16.1% in Q1. Overall annualized premium equivalent (APE) grew faster, at 13% in Q2 and 11% in H1. The number of individual policies grew 9% in H1, ahead of the industry. We expect to sustain this momentum and grow in line with the industry in FY27.”
On the regulatory front, IRDAI has released consultation papers on the economics of insurance distribution, which propose significant changes for the industry. The regulator has encouraged industry participants to share their feedback backed by data and keeping policyholder interest at the centre of the conversations, said Padalkar.
Niraj Shah, ED & CFO, HDFC Life, said,“Value of new business pf the company for H1FY27 was Rs2,037 crore, a growth of about 12.1%, ahead of APE growth. VNB growth for Q2 was 14.8%. Embedded Value stood at Rs 66,461 crore and rolling 12-month embedded value operating profit was 14.9%. Profit after tax for H1 was Rs1,119 crore, a growth of about 12.7%. Assets under management stood at Rs 4.1 trillion, up 13.8% year-on-year.”
The bank channel accounts for around 60% of HDFC Life’s retail insurance sales, with the parent comprising a major share.
Net commissions paid to distributors rose 15.7% to Rs 2685 crore.
India’s insurance sector is set for major reforms as the regulator has proposed overhauling commission rules to cap payouts and link them to product complexity, in an effort to curb costs that have ballooned since commission limits were relaxed in 2023.