Life Insurance – Monthly Update – Buoyant growth for private players and LIC
Published on 08 Dec 2025
Private players saw a sharp uptick in Individual APE in Nov’25 (27.9% YoY growth vs. 15.2%/7.6% in Oct’25/ Sep’25). Within our coverage, SBI Life, Axis Max Life and HDFC Life witnessed solid growth (+32.7% YoY/ +22.6% YoY/ +19.7% YoY), while IPRU Life registered a healthy growth of 13.1% YoY. Other players like Bajaj Life, Tata AIA and Aditya Birla Sun Life also saw a robust growth in volume (38.8%/ 28.8%/ 28.0% YoY) while LIC grew 22.9% YoY. On YTDFY26 basis, the industry has grown by 7.1% YoY, with private players performing better (+11.4% YoY). We expect the trend to continue led by growth in retail protection, recovery in credit protect disbursals and steady NPAR volume.
Expect FY26 VNB margins to be range-bound due to the impact of GST disallowance; however positive growth momentum and favorable product mix likely to offset some of the drag. Reiterate BUY on Max Life (TP of Rs 1,925 at 2.1x FY27E P/EV) and HDFC Life (TP of Rs 900 at 2.6x FY27E P/EV)
