LIC Q2 result: Net profit rises 20% to ₹12,076 crore on higher premium income

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) reported a 20% year-on-year increase in net profit to ₹12,076 crore for the second quarter ended September 2026, compared with ₹10,053 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

LIC’s total income rose to ₹2,62,739 crore in the July-September quarter, up from ₹2,39,614 crore a year earlier, according to its regulatory filing on Thursday.

Net premium income increased 16.2% to ₹1,47,018 crore from ₹1,26,479 crore in the year-ago period, supported by growth in both single and renewal premiums.

Renewal premiums drive growth

Renewal premium income rose 5.2% to ₹68,375 crore during the quarter, compared with ₹64,996 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. However, first-year premium income declined 3.7% to ₹10,432 crore from ₹10,836 crore a year earlier.

Single premium income from new policies, meanwhile, grew around 35%, according to the reported figures.

R Doraiswamy, CEO & MD, LIC, said, "We at LIC are very optimistic about the positive impact of the Proposed commission Regulations changes announced for the Insurance Industry by the IRDAI during September 2026. We believe that most of these changes are in the best interest of customers and will lead to further accelerated growth of the life insurance industry in India."

LIC's performance comes amid changes in India's insurance market, where rising operating costs and regulatory scrutiny over distribution expenses have emerged as key concerns. The insurance regulator has proposed changes to commission structures, including linking commissions to product complexity, following the relaxation of commission-related restrictions in 2023.

"From a business perspective during the first half of this year (FY26-27), LIC has once again demonstrated the successful implementation of its strategy pertaining to both product and channel diversification, that we have been pursuing since our listing. The Non Par APE share of Individual business for H1 FY27 is 34.03%, in line with our current strategy of maintaining levels of one third of Individual APE from Non Par products. The Banca and Alternate Channels share of Individual NBP is now 7.53% for H1 FY27 as compared to 7.12% similar period of previous year, demonstrating a growth of 21.44%. While we have seen the VNB increase by 33.95% in H1 FY27 to Rs 6,846 crore, our VNB margin has also expanded by 470 bps to 22.3% in H1 FY27. While we expand our overall profitability through diversification of product and channel mix, we are also working towards optimizing costs across the entire business. We remain thankful to all our stakeholders for their continued support," Doraiswamy added.

Low base aids growth

LIC's performance also comes against a relatively weak base in the year-ago quarter, when regulatory changes necessitated product modifications and customers deferred purchases ahead of changes in tax exemptions.

India remains one of the world's fastest-growing insurance markets, with insurers navigating evolving regulations, changing customer preferences and rising distribution costs.

Shares of LIC closed at ₹408.10 on the BSE on Thursday, down 0.34%.