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The Life Insurance industry posted a strong ~21% YoY growth in Retail APE during Apr-26, supported by deferred purchases from Mar-26 on account of geopolitical uncertainties and a low base effect. While the Private sector posted a solid 22% growth, LIC logged a robust ~19% Retail APE growth in Apr-26 – both on a low base. On 2Y CAGR basis, the life insurance industry clocked ~10% Retail APE CAGR, with the private sector delivering 11% growth while LIC posted a modest ~7% growth. Group APE for the industry grew 82% in Apr-26, with the Private sector growing 113% YoY while LIC witnessed a strong 51% YoY growth. Consequently, total APE for the industry grew 38% in Apr-26 led by ~43% growth in the private sector while LIC saw ~31% YoY growth. Among private listed players, HDFC Life remained the fastest growing player, clocking a strong ~24% YoY Retail APE growth in Apr-26. ICICI PRU Life reported retail APE grew at a strong ~23% YoY, albeit on a low base. Axis Max Life continued its growth momentum, delivering a robust 21% YoY Retail APE growth on a healthy base (Apr-25: ~24% YoY). SBI Life clocked a healthy ~18% YoY retail APE growth in Apr-26 while Canara HSBC Life saw a modest ~10% growth. On 2Y CAGR basis, Axis Max Life remained the fastest growing player, delivering a strong ~22% growth, followed by HDFC Life at ~13% and SBI Life at ~10%. ICICI Pru Life reported retail APE delivered a ~3% 2Y CAGR. We expect the industry to log 11-12% retail APE growth in FY27E, backed by 13- 14% growth in the private sector, while LIC’s retail APE is likely to grow 6-7%.

Industry reports strong retail APE growth in Apr-26

The Life Insurance industry reported a strong ~21% Retail APE growth in Apr-26, led by 1) deferred purchases from Mar-26 owing to uncertainties related to geopolitical tensions and 2) a low base effect from Apr-25. While the Private sector clocked a strong ~22% YoY retail APE growth, LIC delivered a robust ~19% YoY growth – both on a low base. Led by a strong ~82% YoY growth in Group APE, total APE for the industry grew ~38% YoY during Apr-26, with the Private sector growing ~43% while LIC grew 31%. On 2Y CAGR basis, the industry’s retail APE grew ~10% in Apr-26, with private players clocking ~11% growth while LIC witnessed ~7% growth. LIC saw a modest ~5% growth in the number of individual policies sold in Apr-26, indicating value-led growth. The Private sector witnessed 26% YoY growth in the number of individual policies, resulting in ~13% growth for the industry.

Axis Max Life remains the fastest growing player on 2Y CAGR basis

Among private listed players, HDFC Life remained the fastest growing player, clocking a strong ~24% retail APE growth. ICICI Pru Life’s reported retail APE grew ~23% in Apr-26 on a low base (Apr-25: -14% YoY). Axis Max Life reported a robust ~21% YoY retail APE growth on a healthy base, while SBI Life reported a healthy ~18% YoY retail APE growth on a favorable base. Canara HSBC life delivered ~10% Retail APE growth in Apr-26. On 2Y CAGR basis, Axis Max Life was the fastest growing player, clocking ~22% Retail APE growth, followed by HDFC Life at ~13% and SBI Life at ~10%. ICICI Pru Life posted 2Y reported Retail APE CAGR at ~3%. During the month, SBI Life witnessed significant growth in Group APE (8.75x YoY) which resulted in 120% YoY growth in overall APE. HDFC Life saw ~24% YoY growth in total APE, followed by Axis Max Life at ~15%. ICICI Pru Life’s total APE increased 24% in Apr-26. Among other private players, Bajaj Life’s retail APE grew ~10% while Tata AIA Life witnessed a strong ~27% YoY retail APE growth.

Expect the industry’s retail APE to grow in the 11-12% range in FY27E

Going forward, we expect the life insurance industry’s retail APE to grow in the ~11-12% range in FY27E, with private players likely to outpace the industry growth in the 13-14% range, while LIC is likely to deliver ~6-7% retail APE growth in FY27E. Additionally, GST rate exemption is likely to drive growth over H1FY27, given a favorable base effect.

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