The insurer’s total APE stood at ₹13,692 crore during the quarter, up 8.2% from a year ago but below the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹14,841 crore. VNB surged 61.3% year-on-year to ₹3,136 crore, significantly ahead of the poll estimate of ₹2,638 crore.
The VNB margin expanded 750 basis points to 22.9%, compared with 15.4% a year earlier and well above the Street estimate of 17.8%.
Profit after tax rose 22.8% year-on-year to ₹13,492 crore, while total premium income increased 6.8% to ₹1.27 lakh crore. Individual new business premium income grew 14.5% to ₹14,351 crore, with total individual premium income rising 5.5% to ₹75,416 crore. Group business premium income increased 8.6% to ₹51,834 crore during the quarter.
Within the overall APE, the individual business contributed ₹7,532 crore, up 6.7% year-on-year, while group business APE rose 10.2% to ₹6,160 crore. Non-par APE in the individual business grew 14.2% to ₹2,447 crore, taking its share of the individual business mix to 32.5% from 30.3% a year ago.
LIC said assets under management increased 4.1% year-on-year to ₹59.39 lakh crore, while the solvency ratio improved to 2.42 from 2.17 a year earlier. The overall expense ratio edged up by 16 basis points to 10.63%.
The insurer maintained its leadership position in the domestic life insurance market, with a 60.1% share of first-year premium income during the quarter. It held a market share of 38.9% in the individual business and 70.9% in the group business, according to IRDAI data.
Commenting on the results, Managing Director and CEO R Doraiswamy said the company was pleased to retain its leadership across both individual and group businesses despite heightened competition.
He attributed the sharp improvement in VNB and margins to LIC’s product diversification and distribution strategy, adding that the recently concluded government offer for sale had been well received by investors.
Shares of LIC ended 1.4% lower at ₹387.50 ahead of the Q1 results announcement on Thursday. The stock has declined about 9% so far in 2026 and more than 13% over the last 12 months.
