

Loss of input tax credit, policy changes weigh on life private insurers’ Q4 margins, profitability
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The trailing impact of disruptions related to goods and services tax (GST) and recent policy changes dulled the March quarter for life insurers. HDFC Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, India's second and third largest private life insurers respectively, reporting softer growth and lower margins in what is usually their strongest premium season.
Analysts expect the pressure to spill into the first half of the current fiscal year.HDFC Life and ICICI Pru Life posted their earnings on 16 April and 14 April, respectively. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India and SBI Life Insurance are yet to do so.HDFC Life’s value of new business (VNB) margin moderated to 24.2% in FY26 from 25.6% in the previous year.
For Q4, the VNB margin moderated to 23.9% from 26.5% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.“HDFC Bank’s counter share went down to low 60s in 4QFY26 from mid-60s at start of the year, and this affected bancassurance sales which were weak. Management attributed this to aggressive pricing of products by competitors which resulted in lower sales for HDFC Life through HDFC Bank channel,” Macquarie Research said in a note.HDFC Life posted a consolidated net profit of ₹498 crore for Q4 FY26, up 4.7% from a year ago.
For FY26, the net profit was up 6% at ₹1,910 crore. ICICI Pru Life posted a 58% rise in net profit for Q4 to ₹609 crore and a 35% increase in FY26 profit to ₹1,600 crore.While ICICI Prudential Life’s VNB margin rose to 24.7% from 22.8%, its annualized premium equivalent (APE) grew a muted 2.2% on year for FY26 and 9.4% for Q4.In the post earnings analyst call, ICICI Pru Life's management said that the 21% on year decline in APE of traditional saving
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