ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. reported higher profit and new business metrics for the nine months ended Dec. 31, 2025 (9M FY2026), with growth in its retail protection portfolio and changes in India’s tax environment forming part of the backdrop.
For the first nine months of FY2026, profit after tax (PAT) increased 23.5% year-on-year to ₹992 crore, compared with ₹803 crore in the same period of FY2025. The company said the rise was mainly due to higher investment income from shareholders’ funds. Value of new business (VNB) for 9M FY2026 was ₹1,664 crore, up from ₹1,575 crore a year earlier, while the VNB margin moved to 24.4% from 22.8%. In the third quarter, VNB amounted to ₹615 crore.
Total premium income for the nine-month period was ₹33,477 crore, a 4.2% increase from ₹32,119 crore in 9M FY2025. Annualised premium equivalent (APE) came in at ₹6,811 crore, slightly below ₹6,905 crore a year earlier. Within that, protection APE rose 10.7% to ₹1,292 crore, while savings and annuity APE declined. On a quarterly basis, Q3 FY2026 PAT was ₹390 crore, up 19.6% from ₹326 crore in Q3 FY2025. APE in Q3 FY2026 stood at ₹2,525 crore, with retail APE growing 9.9% to ₹2,116 crore. Commenting on the results, Anup Bagchi, managing director and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said the figures reflected the company’s focus on profitability and business mix. “Our 9M FY2026 performance reflects our ongoing commitment to increasing profitability through balanced business growth. In Q3 FY2026, our VNB stood at ₹ 615 crore, on the back of 9.9% year-on-year growth in retail APE. Notably, the number of policies sold increased by 11.7% year-on-year in the same period,” Bagchi said.
The company reported continued growth in its retail protection franchise amid ongoing GST changes affecting individual life policies in India. Retail protection APE for 9M FY2026 was ₹515 crore, a 20.9% year-on-year increase. In Q3 FY2026, retail protection APE grew 40.8% compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Retail new business sum assured in Q3 FY2026 rose 51.6% year-on-year to ₹1.24 lakh crore. Overall new business sum assured (NBSA) for 9M FY2026 reached ₹10.16 lakh crore, up 18.1% from ₹8.61 lakh crore in the prior-year period. Retail NBSA for the nine months was ₹2.96 lakh crore, 29.5% higher year-on-year. As of Dec. 31, 2025, the total in-force sum assured stood at ₹43.44 lakh crore, compared with ₹37.78 lakh crore a year earlier.
Bagchi linked part of this growth to the 0% GST regime on individual life policies. “As a leading life insurer in the country, it is incumbent on us to enhance insurance penetration and density, to support the vision of ‘Insurance for All’ by 2047. The recent ‘0% GST reform’ on individual policies has significantly aided this vision, with results clearly visible in the strong performance of our core retail protection segment. In Q3 FY2026, this segment registered a strong 40.8% year-on-year growth. Consequently, the retail sum assured, i.e., the total life cover chosen by our retail customers, witnessed robust year-on-year growth of 51.6% during the quarter,” Bagchi said.
The insurer reported lower expense ratios over the period. The overall cost-to-total premium ratio declined by 50 basis points to 19.3% in 9M FY2026. For the savings line of business, the cost-to-premium ratio decreased by 90 basis points to 12.7%. Bagchi said operating changes, including use of technology, contributed to these movements. “Notably, technology and digital solutions have enabled us to increase efficiencies, resulting in a reduction of 90 basis points (bps) to 12.7%, in our savings cost-to-premium ratio during 9M FY2026,” Bagchi said.
On the claims side, ICICI Prudential Life recorded a claim settlement ratio of 99.3% for 9M FY2026, with an average turnaround time of 1.1 days for non-investigated individual death claims. The 13th month persistency ratio for the period was 84.4%, while the 49th month ratio was 71.3%. As of Dec. 31, 2025, the company’s solvency ratio was 214.8%, above the regulatory minimum requirement of 150%. Assets under management (AUM) were ₹3.31 lakh crore at the end of the period.
In terms of product composition, the APE mix in 9M FY2026 was 49% linked, 21% non-linked, 5% annuity, 19% protection, and 6% group funds. In the same period a year earlier, the mix was 51%, 17%, 9%, 17%, and 6%, respectively. By distribution channel, APE in 9M FY2026 came 26% from agency, 14% from direct, 29% from bancassurance, 13% from partnership distribution, and 17% from group, compared with 30%, 15%, 28%, 10%, and 17% respectively in 9M FY2025.
The nine-month update follows the company’s H1 FY2026 results, released in October 2025. For the first half, ICICI Prudential Life reported PAT of ₹601 crore, a 26% year-on-year increase. VNB for H1 FY2026 was ₹1,049 crore, and the VNB margin was 24.5%. Embedded value (EV) as of Sept. 30, 2025, stood at ₹50,501 crore, up 9.7% year-on-year, while the value of in-force business was ₹37,761 crore, an 18.1% increase. Total premium in H1 FY2026 was ₹21,251 crore, up 9.2% year-on-year. New business sum assured grew 19.3% to ₹6.77 lakh crore, and retail NBSA rose 17.2% to ₹1.72 lakh crore. The in-force sum assured as of Sept. 30, 2025, was ₹42.16 lakh crore, compared with ₹36.39 lakh crore a year earlier. For the half-year, the overall cost-to-premium ratio was 19.2%, and the savings business cost-to-premium ratio was 12.7%, both 280 basis points lower than a year before. The 13th month persistency ratio was 85.3%, and the 49th month ratio was 70.5%. The solvency ratio as of Sept. 30, 2025, was 213.2%, and AUM totalled ₹3.21 lakh crore.
