LIC Q4 net profit jumps 23% to quarterly high of Rs 23,420 cr

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) reported a 23% increase in net profit to Rs 23,420 crore in the March quarter, driven by core business and investment returns.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Thursday posted a 23 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 23,420 crore in the March quarter, helped by core business and return on investment.

The country's biggest insurer had earned a profit of Rs 19,013 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

The total income of the insurer during the reporting quarter rose to Rs 2,53,592 crore from Rs 2,22,805 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal year, LIC said in a regulatory filing.

LIC's income from first-year premium also improved to Rs 12,970 crore in the latest January-March quarter against Rs 11,069 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal year.

Income from renewal premiums in the reporting period increased to Rs 81,933 crore compared to Rs 79,138 crore a year ago.

During the quarter, total income increased to Rs 1,64,691 crore as against Rs 1,47,586 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Commenting on quarterly numbers, LIC CEO and MD R Doraiswamy said the reduction in GST has helped the business to grow during FY26.

The government brought down the GST on individual health and life insurance premiums from 18 per cent to nil, effective September 22, 2025.

Besides, he said, ''Our strategy of channel diversification has been successful with our Banca and Alternate Channels (BAC) having recorded a growth rate of more than 45 per cent with premium from BAC exceeding Rs 5,000 crores in FY26.''.

Value of New Business (VNB) growth has been in excess of 41 per cent, he said.

During the financial year ended March 2026, LIC earned a profit of Rs 57,419 crore, up 19 per cent from Rs 48,151 crore in the previous fiscal year.

Total income during the financial year rose to Rs 9,73,288 crore as against Rs 8,84,148 crore in the previous financial year.

The total premium income improved to Rs 5,35,984 crore as compared to Rs 4,88,148 crore for the year ended March 31 2025, registering a growth of 9.8 per cent.

In terms of market share measured by First Year Premium Income (FYPI) (as per IRDAI), LIC continues to be the market leader by market share in the Indian life insurance business with an overall market share of 56.66 per cent for FY26 as compared to 57.05 per cent for FY25.

For the year ended March 31 2026, LIC had a market share of 36.6 per cent in the individual business and 70.11 per cent in the group business.

A total of 1,84,41,175 policies were sold in the individual segment as compared to 1,77,82,975 policies sold during the year ended March 31, 2025, registering an increase of 3.7 per cent.

The Solvency Ratio increased to 2.35 as against 2.11 as on March 31, 2025.

Also, recently, he said, ''We have announced a bonus issue in the ratio of 1:1 to reward our shareholders. With regulatory guidance, we are preparing to implement the Indian Accounting Standards (IndAS) norms and are confident about implementing within the allowed regulatory time frames.''.

The board of the insurance company recommended a final dividend of Rs 10 per equity share of Rs 10 each (equivalent to Rs 20 per equity share pre-bonus issue basis) for 2025-26, subject to approval of shareholders, it said.

''We are convinced about continuing our growth journey and crossing new milestones in the coming years,'' he said.

Asked if the Middle East crisis would have an impact on business, Doraiswamy said, ''There may be some impact, but still we are expecting double-digit growth in the current financial year.''.

On the asset monetisation, he said, ''We are looking at various options, including how to get higher rental value from our assets across the country.''.

The Assets Under Management (AUM) increased to Rs 57,29,396 crore as of March 31, 2026, as compared to Rs 54,52,297 crore on March 31, 2025, registering an increase of 5.08 per cent year on year.

The amount of bonus allocated to policyholders is Rs 59,726 crore for the financial year 2025-26 as against Rs 56,190 crore for the previous financial year.

The Value of New Business (VNB) for the year ended March 2026 was Rs 14,179 crore as compared to Rs 10,011 crore in FY25, registering a growth of 42 per cent.

The net VNB margin for FY26 increased by 360 bps to 21.2 per cent as compared to 17.6 per cent for the year ended March 31, 2025.