New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- The number that marked the quarter for India's life insurance sector was not a premium figure. It was 61 - the percentage by which Life Insurance Corporation of India's value of new business grew in the three months ended June 30, 2026, closing at Rs 3,136 crore against Rs 1,944 crore a year earlier. LIC's VNB margin expanded 750 basis points to 22.9%, a shift that signals the state-owned giant is no longer just collecting premiums at scale but increasingly writing business that generates long-term shareholder value.

India's life insurers collected Rs 1.09 lakh crore in new business premiums in Q1 FY27, up 16.6% year-on-year, the strongest opening quarter in at least ten years. Private insurers collectively posted a...