HDFC Life's quarterly profit rises as sales via India's HDFC Bank recover (updated)

HDFC Life Insurance

15/10/2026 11:38

Rewrites throughout, adds management comments in paragraphs 4,5
By Nishit Navin
Oct 15 (Reuters) - India's HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS reported higher quarterly profit on Thursday, as a recovery in policy sales through parent HDFC Bank HDBK.NS helped drive growth.
     The insurer's profit rose 13.6% to 5.08 billion rupees ($53.44 million) for the quarter ended September 30, while net premium income grew nearly 16% to 217.27 billion rupees.    
      Distribution through HDFC Bank has begun to recover in recent months after weaker sales over the past year amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of banks' distribution of financial products and intense competition.
Growth recovery through HDFC Bank is driven by more granular engagement at the branch level and improved coordination, CEO Vibha Padalkar said in a post-earnings call. 
"We do believe that we should continue to see reasonable growth in the HDFC Bank channel," Chief Business Officer Vineet Arora said. 
The bank channel accounts for around 60% of HDFC Life's retail insurance sales, with the parent comprising a major share.
Annualised premium equivalent sales, a key measure of new business, rose 13% to 47.30 billion rupees, according to a Reuters' calculation compared to 9% growth in the preceding quarter. 
Value of new business, or expected profit from new policies sold, rose nearly 15% year-on-year to 11.58 billion rupees, according to a Reuters calculation, while its VNB margin improved to 24.5% from 24.1% last year.    
The insurance industry, which saw a sharp growth in retail life insurance sales in recent quarters following last year's tax cuts, is expected to see growth moderate for the rest of this fiscal as demand normalises and a higher base of comparison weighs.
HDFC Life expects to grow in line with the insurance industry in fiscal 2027.
Meanwhile, India's insurance sector is set for major reforms as the regulator has proposed overhauling commission rules to cap payouts and link them ​to product complexity, in an effort to curb costs that have ballooned since commission limits were relaxed in 2023.
HDFC Life said it would be better placed to comment on the specifics of the proposals once the regulatory framework is finalised.
     

($1 = 95.0550 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((Nishit.Navin@thomsonreuters.com;))