HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd. has reported a marginal increase in third-quarter profit alongside higher premium income and protection business. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025 (Q3 FY26), HDFC Life posted standalone net profit of Rs 420.73 crore, up 1.40% from Rs 414.94 crore a year earlier. Net premium income rose 8.77% year on year to Rs 18,242.39 crore, compared with Rs 16,771.26 crore in the prior-year period. Individual new business, measured by individual annualised premium equivalent (APE), increased 11% from a year earlier, which the company said translates into a two-year compound annual growth rate of 17%. Within this, retail protection premiums grew 70% in the quarter, while retail sum assured rose 55%, pointing to a greater contribution from protection lines.
According to Business Today’s report, HDFC Life said the growth in protection-oriented business was partly associated with higher rider attachment and increased sum assured multiples in its unit-linked insurance plan (ULIP) portfolio. The insurer indicated that these patterns were consistent with its emphasis on long-term protection cover in addition to savings. Assets under management, including those of wholly owned subsidiary HDFC Pension Fund Management, stood at Rs 5.3 lakh crore at the end of December.
Persistency ratios remained broadly stable over the period. The 13‑month persistency ratio was 85%, while the 61‑month ratio stood at 63%. HDFC Life said these levels reflected its product mix and customer segments. Renewal premium collections rose 15% year on year during the quarter, contributing to inflows from the existing book. The insurer reported a solvency ratio of 180% as of Dec. 31, 2025. The ratio was supported by Rs 749 crore of subordinated debt raised in the quarter, adding to available capital for its life and pension operations.
Vibha Padalkar, managing director and CEO of HDFC Life, said sector trends and policy measures contributed to activity in the quarter. “The life insurance sector saw an acceleration in momentum during the third quarter, supported by recent policy reforms and a rising preference for protection-led solutions. The GST exemption acted as a meaningful catalyst, particularly for the protection segment, improving affordability and driving a pickup in demand,” Padalkar said, as reported by Business Today. Padalkar added: “Against this backdrop, the industry reported YoY growth of around 10%, with HDFC Life growing faster at 11% on individual WRP. As expected, our growth in Q3 outpaced H1, leading to an acceleration in the nine-month growth. This improvement was largely volume-driven, with the number of policies recording double-digit growth during the quarter. We expect this momentum to sustain into Q4, supporting a balanced and healthy full-year outcome.”
HDFC Life’s results were released as India’s life insurance industry recorded higher new business premiums (NBP) in December following changes to goods and services tax (GST) on individual life policies. According to Life Insurance Council data reported by Business Standard, industry-wide NBP reached INR42,150.8 crore in December, an increase of 39.5% from INR30,218.71 crore in the same month a year earlier. December recorded the highest monthly NBP growth so far in the 2025–26 financial year and followed more than 20% year-on-year growth in November.
The rationalisation of GST on individual life premiums has reduced overall policy costs for customers and has been associated with increased purchases of both protection and savings products. Among private life insurers, individual business premiums rose 20.39% to INR14,387.15 crore, while group business premiums increased 36.35% to INR6,469.74 crore. Group single premium contracts continued to account for a significant share of total industry flows, alongside ongoing activity through retail channels.
The recent data are broadly in line with published medium-term projections for India’s life insurance market, which is closely watched by Asia-focused insurers and reinsurers. Research from GlobalData estimates that India’s life insurance gross written premiums could reach INR14.6 trillion (about US$170 billion) by 2029, up from INR9.2 trillion (about US$110.2 billion) in 2024, implying a compound annual growth rate of 9.6% over 2024–2029.
GlobalData cites several factors behind the projected expansion, including rising financial literacy, increased use of digital distribution channels, and evolving customer preferences across whole life and term products. The research notes that term coverage is drawing greater interest from younger consumers alongside traditional savings-led policies. For Asia-based insurance groups and reinsurers, the combination of India’s tax changes, digital adoption trends, and demographic profile suggests that the market will remain a key contributor to regional life premium growth over the remainder of the decade, with company-level results such as HDFC Life’s third-quarter performance providing additional reference points for product and capital planning.
