Axis Max Life Insurance, the life insurance arm of Max Financial Services Limited (MFSL), grew its value of new business (VNB) by about 15% year-on-year to ₹734 crore in the July–September quarter of FY27, as a richer mix of protection and annuity products lifted profitability even though headline premium growth stayed in single digits.
Total annualised premium equivalent (APE), the industry’s standard measure of new business, rose roughly 8% to ₹2,716 crore in Q2 FY27 from ₹2,507 crore a year earlier. VNB of ₹734 crore against ₹639 crore in the year-ago quarter put the quarterly new business margin at about 27%.
Group profit recovers sharply
At the holding company level, Max Financial Services reported a profit of ₹100 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared with just ₹5.87 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY26. Total income for the quarter rose to ₹11,605 crore from ₹9,799 crore.
For the first half of FY27, consolidated profit after tax climbed 137% to ₹219 crore. Consolidated revenue excluding investment income grew 16% to ₹17,484 crore, while revenue including investment income rose 17% to ₹26,582 crore, according to the company’s filing with the exchanges on October 27.
Product mix drives the margin story
For H1 FY27, Axis Max Life’s VNB rose 21% to ₹1,180 crore and the VNB margin expanded 210 basis points to 25.4%, from 23.3% a year earlier. Total APE for the half grew 11% to ₹4,638 crore, and individual adjusted first-year premium increased 12% to ₹4,368 crore, giving the insurer a 10.1% share of the private life insurance market.
The shift in mix was pronounced. Pure retail protection grew 37% year-on-year, and annuity sales more than doubled in the second quarter, rising about 130%. Non-participating savings, typically a lower-margin line, shrank over the half. During the quarter the company also introduced SMART RISE (Smart Retirement Income with Sustained Earnings Plan), which pairs lifelong income with a market-linked variable annuity option.
Renewal premium rose 18% to ₹11,247 crore in H1, taking gross written premium up 17% to ₹18,066 crore. Embedded value stood at ₹31,437 crore as of September 30, 2026, up 17% year-on-year, while annualised operating return on embedded value improved 100 basis points to 17.3%. Assets under management were about ₹2.06 lakh crore, and the solvency ratio stood at 197%, compared with 208% earlier, supported by a ₹686 crore debt raise.
Insurer backs IRDAI’s distribution reset
“The first-half performance reflects the strength of our distribution franchise, disciplined execution and continued focus on sustainable, customer-centric growth,” said Sumit Madan, Managing Director and CEO, Axis Max Life Insurance.
Madan also welcomed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s (IRDAI) efforts to rework the distribution framework, describing the proposed emphasis on simpler distribution economics, better persistency, closer alignment of commissions with expenses and stronger policyholder protection as a step in the right direction. The regulator’s consultation on insurance distribution economics remains open for comments until October 31, with banks, NBFCs and small finance banks seeking time to adjust to proposed commission caps.
Chief Financial Officer Amrit Singh attributed the margin expansion to the improved product mix, alongside growth in individual first-year and renewal premiums.
Why it matters for BFSI
Axis Max Life’s numbers show how life insurers are leaning on protection and retirement products to defend margins as savings-led growth cools and the regulator prepares to tighten distribution costs. With Axis Bank as its key bancassurance partner, the insurer’s ability to keep growing VNB faster than APE will be closely watched as the new commission framework takes shape.
