HDFCLIFE

March 13 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• HDFC LIFE - UPDATE ON DATA‐THEFT INCIDENT

• HDFC LIFE - UNAUTHORIZED EXPLOITATION WAS CONFINED TO A SPECIFIC, IDENTIFIED ISSUE

• HDFC LIFE - DATA THEFT ISSUE HAS SINCE BEEN PROMPTLY ADDRESSED AND REMEDIATED

• HDFC LIFE - INCIDENT HAS NOT RESULTED IN ANY MATERIAL ADVERSE IMPACT

• HDFC LIFE - IMPLEMENTS ENHANCED SECURITY PROTOCOLS

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];))

Adds stock move, details from press statement, industry background

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Indian stock broker Angel One ANGO.NS on Friday said some of its Amazon Web Services (AWS) resources were compromised and that it has hired an external forensic partner to investigate the impact.

The company's shares, already pressured in a weak market, extended losses to as much as 4.7% after the news.

"We have verified that this breach does not have any impact on clients' securities, funds and credentials and all our client accounts remain secure," the company said in an exchange filing.

Angel One said it was notified of the breach by its dark-web monitoring partner and that it immediately changed all credentials of its AWS cloud and other applications.

It did not give further details on the breach, which is the latest to have hit Indian companies, especially insurers.

Niva Bupa Health Insurance NIVA.NS reported an incident last week, while HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS and Star Health STAU.NS were other high-profile targets that led the insurance regulator to direct industry-wide audits of IT systems.

More broadly, the Reserve Bank of India, also the country's financial regulator, said it would launch secure website domain names to curb phishing and other such digital threats.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; (+91 9945291420); Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))

Adds details from statement, background on other data leaks in sector

Feb 21 (Reuters) - India's Niva Bupa Health Insurance Co NIVA.NS said on Friday it is investigating whether any customer data has been leaked after an anonymous person claimed to have access to such data.

"The threat actor via email, claims to have the customer data of Niva Bupa. As a matter of urgency, we continue to conduct investigation(s) of data leak and implement measures to mitigate the risk," the insurer said in a statement.

The company did not give any further details.

If confirmed, this would be the latest in a string of data leaks that have plagued the sector in recent months.

In November, HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS said an unknown source shared certain customer data with it with "mala fide intent".

In August, Star Health faced a data theft incident where stolen customer data, including medical reports, were publicly accessible via chatbots on messaging app Telegram and through websites.

India's insurance regulator had in October directed insurers to audit their IT systems following concerns over such leaks.

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]))

MUMBAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - India's HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS has accepted bids worth 10 billion rupees ($115.13 million) for subordinated bonds maturing in 10 years, three bankers said on Thursday.

The insurer will pay an annual coupon of 8.10% on this issue and had invited bids from bankers and investors earlier in the day, they said.

The issue has a call option at en of five years.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on February 13:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.8580 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]))

MUMBAI, Feb 12 (Reuters) - India's HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS plans to raise 10 billion rupees ($115.6 million), including a greenshoe option of 1 billion rupees, selling subordinated bonds maturing in 10 years, three bankers said on Wednesday.

The insurer has invited bids from bankers and investors for the issue on Thursday, they said.

The company did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on February 12

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.5420 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

(([email protected]))

Feb 6 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• HDFC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY - TAX DEPARTMENT REVISES PENALTY TO 24.23 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSEbM5nJR

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];))

Feb 5 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• APPROVES ISSUANCE OF NON-CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURES

• ISSUANCE UPTO 9 BILLION RUPEES ON PRIVATE PLACEMENT BASIS

• ISSUANCE WITH OPTION TO RETAIN GREEN SHOE OPTION OF UP TO 1 BILLION RUPEES

• FUND RAISE INCLUDES OPTION TO RETAIN GREEN SHOE OPTION OF UP TO 1 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE6K2NB0

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];;))

Feb 4 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• GETS TAX DEMAND OF 565.6 MILLION RUPEES, PENALTY OF 565.6 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSEb7mxmx

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];;))

MUMBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - India, on Saturday, raised the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 100% from the current 74%, a move aimed to boost overseas investments and improve insurance penetration in the country.

The change applies to insurers that invest their entire premium in India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, while presenting the annual budget.

Existing regulations and conditions governing foreign investment in the sector will undergo review and simplification, Sitharaman said.

In November, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's (IRDAI) chairperson, Debasish Panda, said the government should allow 100% FDI in insurance.

"To stick to India's target of 'insurance for all' by 2047, we need a lot of capital ... we need a lot of new entities to come in, there may be some consolidation happening," Panda had said.

Shares of insurance companies such as SBI Life SBIL.NS and HDFC Life HDFL.NS rose 2.3% each, while ICICI Prudential Life ICIR.NS gained 3%.

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; +91 22 6921 7848; Reuters Messaging: X: https://twitter.com/siddhiVnayak))

Jan 17 (Reuters) - India's SBI Life Insurance Company SBIL.NS posted a higher third-quarter profit on Friday, led by growth in renewed and new insurance policies.

Its profit rose 71% to 5.51 billion rupees ($63.6 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, from 3.22 billion rupees a year earlier.

The insurer's net premium income grew 11% to 248.28 billion rupees, driven by a 13% rise in renewal premiums, or premiums that keep policies active, and a 12% jump in first-year premiums.

Insurance penetration has historically been low in India, but rising financial awareness and accelerated demand for cover - especially for life and health insurance - after the COVID-19 pandemic has led to higher policy sales.

The company's value of new business (VNB), or expected profit from new policies - one of the key metrics for insurers - rose 6% year-on-year to 42.9 billion rupees for the nine months to the end of December.

Its annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, a closely watched metric that gives the annualised total value of all single and recurring premium policies, was up 11% at 159.7 billion rupees for the nine month period.

Meanwhile, market- or unit-linked insurance plans (ULIP), which have a lower profit margin compared to term policies, accounted for 67% of SBI Life's overall product mix by individual APE during the quarter, up from 61% a year ago.

Demand for ULIPs has been strong, especially in the first-half of the current fiscal year, driven by India's buoyant stock market.

The rise in the share of ULIPs, however, led to VNB margins contracting to 26.9% for the April to December period from 28.1% a year earlier. Its VNB margins were largely flat on a sequential basis.

To cushion margins, insurers have pushed for higher sales of high-margin policies.

Peer HDFC Life HDFL.NS reported a higher quarterly profit and an improvement in VNB margins on a sequential basis.

SBI Life's shares ended 1.8% higher after the results.

($1 = 86.5910 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected]; 8800437922;))

** Shares of HDFC Life Insurance rise ~9.89% to 653 rupees ($7.48), set for biggest one-day pct gain in nearly 5 years

** Co posts 14% rise in Q3 profit on sales growth in retail insurance policies

** Nomura upgrades to "buy" from "neutral"; says value of new business margin saw limited impact from new surrender regulations

** Norms, effective Oct 2024, allow policyholders higher surrender value even after paying only 1 annual premium

** Shares had slipped ~16% since Oct 1 on surrender rule woes and potential rules that could limit cross selling of insurance to bank customers

** Jefferies reiterates 'buy' but awaits clarity on bank sale speculation for re-rating

** HDFL shares trim three months' losses to ~8.7%

($1 = 86.4300 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

BENGALURU, Jan 15 (Reuters) - India's HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS reported a 14% rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by growth in the sales of retail insurance policies.

The company, the first major Indian life insurer to report its quarterly results, said profit rose to 4.15 billion rupees ($48.05 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, with net premium income growing 10%.

HDFC Life's claims paid during the Dec-quarter dropped 7% year-on-year.

Insurance penetration has historically been low in India, but rising financial awareness and accelerated demand for cover - especially for life and health insurance - after the COVID-19 pandemic has led to higher policy sales.

The company's value of new business (VNB), or expected profit from new policies - one of the key metrics for insurers - rose 14% year-on-year to 25.86 billion rupees in the nine months to Dec. 31.

New Business Premiums from retail policies rose 24% in the period, driven by a 15% rise in policies sold.

Annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, which gives the annualised total value of all single-premium and recurring-premium policies, rose 20% to 102.93 billion rupees for the nine months.

ULIP GROWTH

Demand for market- or unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) -has been strong, especially in the first half of the fiscal year, driven by India's buoyant stock market.

ULIPs, which have lower profit margins, accounted for 37% of HDFC Life's overall product mix in terms of individual APE, up from 32% a year ago.

The rise in the share of ULIPs led to the VNB margin dropping to 25.1% for the nine months ended Dec. 31 from 26.5% a year earlier.

However, this was higher than the 24.6% the insurer reported at the end of September, as it pushed for sales for higher-margined policies.

($1 = 86.3730 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected];))

** Shares of HDFC Life Insurance Co HDFL.NS up 0.9% at 632.15 rupees but down 0.7% for the week

** Stock on track for its sixth straight weekly loss — the longest since February 2020

** Average rating of analysts covering HDFL is "buy"; peers ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS and SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS both rated "buy" too

** Median PT for HDFL is 810 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock down ~2% so far this year, ICIR is up ~28% and SBIL is down ~0.3%

** YTD, Nifty 50 index .NSEI and Nifty Financial Services index .NIFTYFIN up ~14% and ~16%, respectively

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

Dec 10 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• APPROVES 66 MILLION RUPEES INVESTMENT IN BIMA SUGAM

• APPROVES INVESTMENT UP TO 10% IN BIMA SUGAM

Source text: ID:nNSEc99zNk

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];;))

Nov 25 (Reuters) - India's HDFC Life Insurance Company HDFL.NS said on Monday that an unknown source shared certain customer data with the company with "mala fide intent".

The company, in its statement, did not elaborate if the source had obtained the data by breaching the company's security, or what data was shared.

The insurer, however, said it has started an information security assessment and an investigation, in consultation with information security experts.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; X: @MukherjeeHritam;))

BENGALURU, Oct 23 (Reuters) - India's SBI Life Insurance Company SBIL.NS reported a nearly 40% year-on-year rise in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by higher investment income and sustained demand for insurance products.

SBI Life said its profit rose to 5.29 billion rupees ($62.92 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, from 3.8 billion rupees a year earlier.

Net premium income rose 1% to 202.66 billion rupees, while investment income more than doubled to 197.53 billion rupees.

SBI Life's annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, a key metric that gives annualised total value of all single premium and recurring premium policies, rose 9% to 90.3 billion rupees for the half-year ended Sept. 30.

The insurer's value of new business (VNB), or expected profit from new policies, rose 2% to 24.2 billion rupees for the half-year.

A strong equity market has boosted demand for market- or unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) in recent quarters.

ULIPs accounted for 63% of SBI Life's overall product mix for April-September, up from 56% a year earlier.

This resulted in the contraction of VNB margins for SBI Life to 26.8% for the half-year from 28.6% a year ago.

Peers HDFC Life HDFL.NS and ICICI Prudential ICIR.NS also reported a drop in VNB margins for the half-year.

Shares of SBI Life were up around 1% after the results.

($1 = 84.0725 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected];))

Oct 15 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• HDFC LIFE INSURANCE Q2 PAT 4.33 BILLION RUPEES

• HDFC LIFE INSURANCE Q2 NET PREMIUM INCOME 165.7 BLN RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];))

MUMBAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - India's HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS has accepted bids worth 10 billion rupees ($119.12 million) for subordinated bonds maturing in 10 years, three bankers said on Monday.

It will pay an annual coupon of 8.05% and had invited bids for the issue earlier in the day, they said.

The bonds carry a call option at the end of the fifth year and every year thereafter.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on Oct. 7:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 83.9460 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Bhakti Tambe
Editing by Eileen Soreng)

(([email protected]))

MUMBAI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - India's HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS plans to raise up to 15 billion rupees ($178.7 million), including a greenshoe of 5 billion rupees, by selling bonds maturing in 10 years, three bankers said on Friday.

It has invited commitment bids for the issue on Monday, they said.

The bonds carry a call option at the end of the fifth year and every year thereafter.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on Oct. 4:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 83.9560 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bhakti Tambe; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]))

HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• HDFC LIFE- GOT TAX ORDER FOR 18.7 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE7p44DZ

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• HDFC LIFE- GETS MULTIPLE TAX NOTICES FOR TOTAL 49.1 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE4vcllR

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

Aug 1 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• GETS ORDER FOR TAX DEMAND AT 11.8 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSEc5f42J

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];;))

July 19 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• SURESH BADAMI, DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR, RESIGNS

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE4RmhhF

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];))

July 15 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• Q1 PAT 4.78 BILLION RUPEES

• Q1 NET PREMIUM INCOME 125.1 BILLION RUPEES

• APPROVED RAISING OF FUNDS THROUGH ISSUANCE OF NCDS UPTO 20 BLN RUPEEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];))

June 13 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• HDFC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - WE ANTICIPATE GROSS IMPACT OF APPROXIMATELY 100 BPS ON COMPANY'S NEW BUSINESS MARGIN

• HDFC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - CONFIDENT IN OUR ABILITY TO LARGELY MITIGATE THIS IMPACT

• HDFC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - EXPECT MEASURES TO POSITIVELY IMPACT LONG-TERM GROWTH PROSPECTS FOR INDUSTRY

• HDFC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - WELCOME IRDAI'S PROGRESSIVE REFORMS OUTLINED IN MASTER CIRCULAR ON LIFE INSURANCE PRODUCTS

• HDFC LIFE INSURANCE CO- ANTICIPATE IMPACT ON CO'S NEW BUSINESS MARGIN DUE TO HIGHER SURRENDER VALUE ON EARLY EXITS

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE5j1tWY

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];))

BENGALURU, April 26 (Reuters) - India's SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS reported a weaker new business margin for the year ended March 31, hurt by a rising share of low-margin products amid shifting customer preferences.

The value of new business (VNB) - the expected profit from new policies - rose 9.5% to 55.50 billion rupees ($666.1 million). The VNB margin contracted to 28.1% from 30.1% a year earlier.

Life insurers have seen a rise in the share of low-margin unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) amid a strong domestic equity market. This has weighed heavily on the insurers' VNB margins, analysts said.

The NSE Nifty 50 Index .NSEI rose 2.7% in the March quarter, logging its fourth straight quarterly gain and scaling record highs.

SBI Life said its ULIP segment made up 60% of its overall product mix by annualised premium equivalent (APE). The share was 55% a year earlier.

SBI Life's ULIP share is the highest among its peers but the company is able to cushion its margins better with its low-cost structure, analysts have said.

APE, a key metric for insurers, is a gauge of sales that gives the annualised total value of all single premium and recurring premium policies. The company's APE sales rose 17% to 197.20 billion rupees for the year.

SBI Life posted a net premium income growth of 26% to 251.16 billion rupees for the three months ended March 31. Meanwhile, investment income had a more than nine-fold jump to 108.12 billion rupees.

Profit after tax rose 4.4% to 8.11 billion rupees from a year earlier.

Rivals HDFC Life Insurance Co HDFl.NS and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS both reported a weaker new business margin on a higher share of ULIPs.

Shares closed 2% lower ahead of the results.

($1 = 83.3200 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)

(([email protected];))

April 25 (Reuters) - HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFL.NS:

• GETS GST TAX DEMAND ORDER OF 160.3 MILLION RUPEES, WITH INTEREST OF 157.8 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE1y73f4

Further company coverage: HDFL.NS

(([email protected];))

BENGALURU, April 23 (Reuters) - India's ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company ICIR.NS reported a lower new business margin on Tuesday, hurt by persistent decline in demand for high-value policies and as customer preference shifted towards low-margin products.

Value for new business (VNB), the expected profit from new policies, fell 19.5% to 22.27 billion rupees ($267 million) for the year ended March 31, dragging the VNB margin to 24.6% from 32% a year earlier.

Life insurers have seen a rising share of low-margin unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) amid a strong domestic equity market.

The NSE Nifty 50 Index .NSEI rose 2.7% in the January-March period, logging its fourth straight quarterly gain and scaling record highs.

Continued weak demand for high-value policies post-tax implementation changes is also weighing heavily on their VNB margins, analysts said.

The decline in VNB margin is primarily on account of the shift in the underlying product mix towards unit-linked business, the company said in an exchange filing.

The linked segment contributed 43.2% to the overall product mix by annualised premium equivalent (APE) for the year, ICICI Prudential added.

APE, a key metric for insurers, is a gauge of sales that gives the annualised total value of all single premium and recurring premium policies. The company's APE sales grew 4.7% for the year.

The ICICI Bank ICBK.NS-backed insurer posted a net premium income growth of 17% to 147.88 billion rupees for the three months ended March 31.

The company's fourth-quarter profit after tax fell 26% to 1.74 billion rupees from a year earlier.

Rival HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS also reported a decline in new business margin last week.

Shares of ICICI Prudential closed 2.3% higher ahead of results. The stock had gained nearly 14% during the March quarter.

($1 = 83.3070 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)

(([email protected];))

** Shares of HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS fall as much as 4.1% to 581.10 rupees, last down 2.1%

** Ambit Capital maintains 'buy' rating on HDFL but prefers ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS and SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS amongst life insurers

** Cuts PT by 3% to 690 rupees due to 4%-5% lower value for new business (VNB) forecast in FY25/26

** Adds Q4 VNB 9% below estimate; affected by higher share of unit-linked insurance plans

** HDFL reports a decline in VNB margin for FY24, pressured by rising customer preference for low-margin ULIPs

** Thirty analysts covering the stock on average have a "buy" rating; median PT is 745 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock down ~8% YTD vs a ~9% rise in ICIR; SBIL flat

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

BENGALURU, April 18 (Reuters) - India's HDFC Life Insurance Company HDFL.NS reported a decline in new business margin for the last financial year on Thursday, pressured by rising customer preference for low-margin products over high-value policies.

The value for new business (VNB), the expected profit from new policies, fell 4.7% to 35.01 billion rupees ($419.3 million) for the year ended March 31, dragging VNB margin to 26.3% from 27.6% a year earlier.

The continued decline in high-value policies due to the government's move to tax total returns and a rising share of low-margin unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) will lead to compressed VNB margins for life insurers, analysts said.

A strong domestic equity market fuelled investment in ULIPs. The NSE Nifty 50 Index .NSEI rose 2.7% in the March quarter, logging its fourth straight quarterly gain and scaling record highs, amid buying by domestic and foreign investors and strong macroeconomic data.

HDFC Life Insurance said its unit-linked segment made up 35% of its overall product mix by individual annualized premium equivalent (APE) for the financial year 2024. The share was 19% a year earlier.

APE, a key metric for insurers, is a gauge of sales that gives the annualized total value of all single premium and recurring premium policies. Total APE sales dipped 0.3% to 132.91 billion rupees for the year.

HDFC Life Insurance's net premium income rose 5.5% to 204.88 billion rupees for the three months ended March 31, compared to a 6% growth in the previous quarter. Its investment income registered an over six-fold jump.

The insurer, a unit of HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, reported a near 15% rise in fourth-quarter profit after tax at 4.12 billion rupees from a year earlier.

Separately, the company announced that Keki M Mistry has been appointed as the new chairman as Deepak S Parekh steps down, with effect from Thursday.

The company's shares pared gains to trade 0.2% higher post results after climbing as much as 3.2% earlier in the session.

($1 = 83.5020 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

(([email protected];))