HDFC Life Q3 results: Standalone profit flat at Rs 421 crore; net premium income increases by 9%

HDFC Life Insurance on Thursday reported subdued growth in the December quarter, with standalone profit after tax rising just 1% year-on-year to Rs 421 crore, compared to Rs 415 crore in the same period last year.Net premium income grew 9% year-on-year to Rs 18,242 crore during the quarter, compared to Rs 16,771 crore a year ago.

Individual new business momentum strengthened in the December quarter, with individual premium equivalent growing 11% year-on-year, which is a healthy two-year CAGR of 17%. This allowed the insurer to gain 20 basis points of market share, bringing its total industry market share for the first nine months of FY26 to 10.9%.

Growth was led by protection-oriented products. The retail protection business grew 70% year-on-year in the third quarter, while growth over the nine-month period was 42%, significantly higher than the broader industry.

This was also reflected in the quality of operations, with sum insured increasing 55% in Q3 and 33% in Q3 2026, supported by higher rider engagement and higher sums insured, especially in ULIPs.

Value of New Business (VNB) rose 7% year-on-year to Rs 2,773 crore for nine months ended December, with margins largely stable at 24.4%, similar to the first half. The company said margins benefited from a better product mix but were partially offset by the impact of GST changes and labor law-related costs. Excluding these one-off factors, underlying PAT growth for both the quarter and the nine-month period was 15%.

For the nine months ended December, profit after tax rose 7% year-on-year to Rs 1,414 crore. Assets under management, including those of the wholly-owned pension subsidiary, stood at Rs 5.3 lakh crore. The operating figures remained stable. Renewals grew 15% year over year, while persistence ratios remained largely stable, with 13-month persistence at 85% and 61-month persistence at 63%. The embedded value stood at Rs 61,565 crore, with an operating return on embedded value of 15.6% on a rolling 12-month basis. The solvency ratio remained comfortably at 180%, supported by Rs 749 crore of subordinated debt raised during the third quarter.

Management said the recovery in momentum during the third quarter was driven by policy reforms and improved affordability following GST exemptions, especially in the protection segment. The company expects this trend to continue in the March quarter, supporting a balanced performance for the full year.