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Quick Pointers:

* Individual APE growth for private life insurers witnessed a robust trend (+27.9% YoY); SBI Life, Axis Max Life and HDFC Life saw strong momentum. Industry grew by 26.6% YoY with LIC maintaining sustained growth trajectory (+22.9% YoY)

* While private insurers saw de-growth in Group APE (-4.1% YoY), LIC outperformed (+97.5% YoY). Consequently, overall Group APE saw strong growth of 61.7% YoY.

* Expect FY26 VNB margins to be range-bound due to impact of GST exemption.

Strong month for private players: Private players saw a sharp uptick in Individual APE in Nov’25 (27.9% YoY growth vs. 15.2%/7.6% in Oct’25/ Sep’25). Within our coverage, SBI Life, Axis Max Life and HDFC Life witnessed solid growth (+32.7% YoY/ +22.6% YoY/ +19.7% YoY), while IPRU Life registered a healthy growth of 13.1% YoY. Other players like Bajaj Life, Tata AIA and Aditya Birla Sun Life also saw a robust growth in volume (38.8%/ 28.8%/ 28.0% YoY) while LIC grew 22.9% YoY. On YTDFY26 basis, the industry has grown by 7.1% YoY, with private players performing better (+11.4% YoY). We expect the trend to continue led by growth in retail protection, recovery in credit protect disbursals and steady NPAR volume.

Robust industry group volumes led by LIC: LIC witnessed a sharp rise in Group APE (+97.5% YoY) boosting overall industry growth (+61.7% YoY). Private players saw weak growth (-4.1% YoY) while covered companies saw strong volumes - Axis Max Life (+42.9% YoY), SBI Life (+35.9% YoY) and IPRU Life (+14.7% YoY). HDFC Life however saw a de-growth of -15.5% YoY.

Private players gradually expanding market share: SBI Life has maintained its market leadership position (16.8% share in Individual APE) while HDFC Life/Axis Max Life/ IPRU Life’s market share stands at 11.3%/7.1%/6.1%. Overall, the private sector’s market share continues to see steady expansion (at 71.7% vs 71.1% in Oct’25) while LIC is slowly ceding market share to them at 28.3%.

New business growth continues its positive trend: Growth in New Business Premium (NBP) for private players was moderate at 13.2% YoY, in-line with Oct’25 (+12.4% YoY). SBI Life performed better than peers (+34.4% YoY) followed by Axis Max Life at 24.0% YoY while growth for HDFC Life was subdued at 2.1% YoY. IPRU Life recorded a decline in growth by 40.5%. LIC’s NBP expanded 35.0% YoY resulting in Industry NBP growth (+23.4% YoY). On YTDFY26 basis, industry NBP has grown by 10.1% YoY.

BUY Max FS and HDFC Life: Expect FY26 VNB margins to be range-bound due to the impact of GST disallowance; however positive growth momentum and favorable product mix likely to offset some of the drag. Reiterate BUY on Max Life (TP of Rs 1,925 at 2.1x FY27E P/EV) and HDFC Life (TP of Rs 900 at 2.6x FY27E P/EV)

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