SBI Life and Axis Max Surge as Premium Collections Pick Up in June; Sector Growth Accelerates

SBI Life and Axis Max Surge as Premium Collections Pick Up in June; Sector Growth Accelerates​

The life insurance sector saw a positive uptick in premium collections during June 2026, with private insurers reporting stronger growth, particularly driven by the group business segment. A comprehensive report from Kotak Institutional Equities highlights how individual performance varied among major players amidst rising industry trends.

Private Insurers Drive Upward Trend in Premium Collections​

Overall annualised premium equivalent (APE) growth for the private insurance sector improved significantly, reaching 18% year-on-year (YoY) in June. This represents an improvement from May’s figures and contrasts with the overall industry APE growth of 15% YoY. The positive trajectory is largely attributed to accelerated group APE growth across private insurers.

The private sector’s group APE witnessed a remarkable rise, surging 74% YoY. In contrast, the top four major private insurers reported an average APE growth of 14% YoY in June, up from approximately 5% recorded in May.

SBI Life and Axis Max Lead Sector Performance​

Among the leading firms, SBI Life demonstrated sharp acceleration, reporting a 19% YoY rise in APE for June, compared to only 4% increase in May. The individual APE growth at SBI Life accelerated to about 18% YoY, while its group APE saw a significant jump of around 46% YoY.

Axis Max Life sustained robust momentum in the market. This insurer reported a strong 17% YoY APE growth in June, complemented by an acceleration in its group APE to approximately 81% YoY. ICICI Prudential Life also showed signs of improvement, with its APE rising 16% YoY in June from 9% in May.

HDFC Life and LIC Show Varied Growth Rates​

The performance within the top four companies varied significantly. While SBI Life and Axis Max Life continued to outperform the sector average, HDFC Life reported flat individual APE growth. This stagnation was noted despite a strong group APE of around 81% YoY, which partially offset weak retail performance.

LIC maintained a strong position during the period, reporting a substantial 21% YoY growth in individual APE for June. The broader context remains bullish, with individual APE growth across the private sector improving to 14% YoY, up from 12% recorded in May.

Tier-II Players Outperform Top Four Giants​

The performance was not limited to the major players; tier-II insurers showed remarkable strength. Bajaj Allianz Life reported a very strong 29% YoY APE growth. Aditya Birla Sun Life also posted impressive growth at around 27%, and Tata AIA saw approximately 12% growth.

These smaller, rapidly growing companies continued to demonstrate resilience. Kotak noted that private ex-top-four players recorded an average of 23% YoY APE growth in June 2026. This metric means these insurers outperformed the top four players (reporting 14% YoY) for the eighth consecutive month.

Sum Assured Trends Remain Under Scrutiny​

Despite the general rally and premium increases, sum assured growth moderated slightly across the industry segment. The private sector registered a sum assured growth of 11%, which cooled down from 60% recorded in April. However, the brokerage expects the momentum in the sum assured/term business to continue and stated it will closely track this trend moving forward.