Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Thursday reported a 20% rise in standalone net profit to ₹12,076 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared with ₹10,053 crore in the same quarter last year, helped by higher renewal and net premium collections.
Key numbers (Q2 FY27 vs Q2 FY26)
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Net profit | ₹12,076 crore | ₹10,053 crore |
| Total income | ₹2,62,739 crore | ₹2,39,614 crore |
| Net premium income | ₹1,47,018 crore | ₹1,26,479 crore |
| Renewal premium | ₹68,375 crore | ₹64,996 crore |
| First-year premium | ₹10,432 crore | ₹10,836 crore |
For the six months to September, LIC's value of new business (VNB) — a key measure of the profitability of new policies — rose about 34% to ₹6,846 crore from ₹5,111 crore. The net VNB margin improved by 470 basis points to 22.3%, from 17.6% a year earlier.
Why first-year premium dipped
The one weak spot was first-year premium, which fell slightly. LIC CEO and Managing Director R Doraiswamy attributed the dip to a slowdown in unit-linked insurance plan (ULIP) purchases, which tend to fall when equity markets are weak, adding that "one should be buying at every dip".
He also said the insurer's focus on higher ticket sizes could lift the VNB margin further in the third and fourth quarters.
Persistency mixed
Persistency — the share of policyholders who keep paying premiums — was mixed for the half-year. On a premium basis, the 13th-month persistency ratio slipped to 74.69% from 75.29%, and the 61st-month ratio fell to 61.03% from 63.81%. On a policy-count basis, 13th-month persistency improved, while 61st-month persistency declined.
LIC's shares will react to the numbers when markets open on Friday.
