HDFC Life Result: Continue to disappoint me
Q3FY26 Results are out. Check Details
I invested in HDFC Life in 2021. The stock price has hardly moved since then. Back in 2021, my rationale was that the insurance industry was still in a nascent stage and it had a long way to go.
Five years have passed, and there has been no progress. I was hopeful GST reduction for the sector would be a big boost, but it looks like I was wrong. However, I will continue to bet on the stock and the industry.
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HDFC Life Results
Below is a summary of the result:
Individual New Business in terms of Individual Annualized Premium Equivalent (APE) grew 11% year-on-year, translating into a healthy two-year CAGR of 17%
Market Share gain of 20 basis points within the overall sector. 9MFY26 overall industry market share at 10.9%
Value of New Business (VNB) for 9M FY26 stood at ₹ 2,773 crore, a growth of 7% YoY and a 2- year CAGR of 11% while broadly maintaining new business margins similar to H1, at 24.4%
Retail protection registered robust growth of 70% during Q3FY26, translating to 42% growth for the period 9MFY26.
Retail sum assured recorded 55% growth in Q3 and 33% for the period 9MFY26. Growth was supported by higher rider attachment and increased sum assured multiples in ULIP business, reinforcing the quality of growth and alignment with long-term protection objectives.
Assets under Management (AUM), including that of our wholly owned subsidiary HDFC Pension Fund Management, stood at ₹5.3 trillion.
Persistency ratios were stable, with 13-month and 61-month persistency at 85% and 63% respectively. These trends reflect the underlying product and tier mix. Renewal collections grew 15% year-on-year.
Embedded Value (EV) stood at ₹ 61,565 crore, with an operating RoEV of 15.6% on a rolling 12-month basis.
Profit after tax grew by 7% to Rs 1,414 crore, for the period 9MFY26. Excluding one-time labour code and GST impact, underlying PAT growth for both nine months and the quarter stood at 15%.
HDFC Life Result: Management Commentary
Vibha Padalkar, Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Life, commented:
The life insurance sector saw an acceleration in momentum during the third quarter, supported by recent policy reforms and a rising preference for protection-led solutions. The GST exemption acted as a meaningful catalyst, particularly for the protection segment, improving affordability and driving a pickup in demand.
Against this backdrop, the industry reported year-on-year growth of around 10%, with HDFC Life growing faster at 11% on individual WRP. As expected, our growth in Q3 outpaced H1, leading to an acceleration in the nine-month growth. This improvement was largely volume-driven, with the number of policies recording double-digit growth during the quarter. We expect this momentum to sustain into Q4, supporting a balanced and healthy full-year outcome.
Before you go
I will continue to hold the stock. What are your thoughts on the industry and the stock? Please share in the comments.
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