Insurance - Monthly Update - By PL Capital (Prabhudas Lilladher)
Ind. APE growth picks up in August: Private players saw a pick-up in Individual APE growth in Aug’26 (15.0% YoY vs. 8.5%/13.7% in Jul’26/ Jun’26). Within our coverage, SBI Life beat industry growth at 21.8% YoY whereas HDFC Life and IPRU Life recorded growth at 17.4%/11.2% YoY respectively. Axis Max Life APE saw a moderate growth of 10.2% YoY due to base effect. Other private players like Aditya Birla Sun Life/ Tata AIA & Bajaj Life reported volume growth of 32.2%/18.8%/9.4% YoY respectively. In Aug’26, the industry grew 14.4% YoY with LIC growing at 12.8% YoY. Expect protection-led growth supported by recovery in savings segment to sustain growth momentum.
Group APE grows strong: Industry Group APE grew by 22.8% YoY (from 29.1% in Jul’26) with private insurers reporting 23.0% YoY, while LIC saw a growth of 22.7% YoY. IPRU Life/ HDFC Life/ Axis Max Life reported a volume with a growth of 31.2%/ 14.1%/ 2.7% YoY respectively, while SBI Life saw a decline of -32.7% YoY.
Market share for private players sees an uptick: Among private insurers, SBI Life has maintained its market leadership position with a 17.1% share in individual APE, while HDFC Life/Axis Max Life/IPRU Life’s market share stood at 11.9%/ 7.5%/ 6.0%. Overall, the market share for private sector increased to 72.3% (from 71.4% in Jul’26) while LIC declined to 27.7% (from 28.6% in Jul’26)
New business volumes pick up: Growth in new business premium (NBP) for private players increased to 20.0% YoY (vs. 16.3%/ 36.8% YoY in Jul’26/Jun’26). Within our coverage, HDFC Life posted the highest growth (+17.8% YoY), followed by IPRU Life and Axis Max Life at 9.9%/8.1% YoY respectively. SBI Life saw a marginal growth of 2.8% YoY. LIC’s NBP growth picked up to 45.3% YoY (23.8%/1.2% in Jul’26/Jun’26), resulting in overall industry NBP growth of 33.1% YoY.
Prefer MAXF among private life insurers: In our coverage universe, Axis Max Life has delivered APE growth of 10.2% YoY in Aug’26 on higher base (14.7% in YTDFY27). We expect growth momentum to sustain driven by protection, annuity and recovery in NPAR. We expect positive movement in VNB margin due to yield curve changes and higher protection mix/operating leverage. Reiterate BUY on MAXF (TP of INR 2,025 at 1.9x FY28E P/EV).
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