Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Thursday reported a 23% year-on-year rise in standalone net profit to ₹13,492 crore for the first quarter ended June 2026 (Q1FY27), driven by growth in group insurance premiums and investment income.
Total premium income of the country’s largest life insurer rose 7% to ₹1.27 lakh crore during the quarter. Individual new business premium increased 14% to ₹14,351 crore, while individual renewal premium grew 4% to ₹61,065 crore. The number of individual policies sold almost remained flat at 31 lakh.
Group insurance business outpaced the retail segment, with premium income rising 9% year-on-year to ₹51,834 crore. Investment income also increased 6% to ₹1.09 lakh crore, supporting profitability. Total assets under management grew 4% year-on-year to ₹59.39 lakh crore.
LIC continued to dominate the life insurance market, with an overall First Year Premium Income (FYPI) market share of 60.10%. During the quarter, it held a 38.89% market share in the individual business and 70.90% in the group business. “What gives us even more happiness is that our VNB has grown by 61% plus and our VNB margin has expanded by 7.5% to 22.90% this year,” R Doraiswamy, CEO & MD, LIC said.
LIC’s Value of New Business (VNB), a key profitability metric, jumped 61% year-on-year to ₹3,136 crore in Q1FY27, while the VNB margin expanded by 750 basis points to 22.9%. “This is a direct outcome of our product diversification and distribution strategy,” Doraiswamy said.
The share of non-participating products in the individual annualised premium equivalent (APE) mix increased to 32.49% from 30.34% a year ago, while the share of participating policies declined to 67.51% from 69.66%.
Individual business APE, a key measure of new business sales, rose 7% year-on-year to ₹7,532 crore, while group business APE increased 10.2% to ₹6,160 crore.
However, LIC’s persistency ratio weakened further. The 61st-month persistency ratio, based on the number of policies, fell to 48.74% from 51.12% a year earlier, indicating that fewer than five out of every 10 policyholders continued with their policies after five years. On a premium basis, the 61st-month persistency ratio declined to 61.12% from 63.85%.
The insurer’s solvency ratio improved to 2.42 as of June 30, 2026, compared with 2.17 a year earlier, remaining comfortably above the regulatory requirement of 1.75. Shares of LIC closed 1% lower at ₹387.55 on the NSE on Thursday. The company announced its quarterly results after market hours.