ICICI Lombard General Insurance Reports Strong Q3 FY26 Premium Growth of 13.3%

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited has announced its financial results for the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2025, demonstrating strong premium growth amid challenging market conditions. The company's performance reflects resilience in its core business segments while navigating regulatory changes and market dynamics.

Financial Performance Overview

The company's financial metrics for the reporting period show mixed results with strong premium growth offset by margin pressures:

Metric	Q3 FY25	Q3 FY26	Growth (%)	9M FY25	9M FY26	Growth (%)
GDPI (₹ billion)	62.14	70.41	13.3%	206.23	213.72	3.6%
PBT (₹ billion)	9.60	8.70	-9.4%	26.53	29.41	10.8%
PAT (₹ billion)	7.24	6.59	-9.1%	19.99	22.25	11.3%

Premium Growth and Market Position

The company achieved notable premium growth across different time periods. For Q3 FY26, GDPI growth of 13.3% outpaced the industry growth of 11.5%. When excluding Crop and Mass Health segments, the company's GDPI growth reached 16.4% compared to industry growth of 20.1% for the same period.

For the nine-month period, while overall GDPI growth of 3.6% lagged behind industry growth of 8.7%, the company showed stronger performance when excluding Crop and Mass Health segments, achieving 7.5% growth against industry growth of 13.3%.

Operational Metrics and Combined Ratio

The combined ratio experienced upward pressure during the reporting period:

Period	Combined Ratio (1/n basis)	Combined Ratio (n basis)
Q3 FY26	104.5%	103.1%
Q3 FY25	102.7%	102.3%
9M FY26	104.2%	103.1%
9M FY25	102.9%	102.8%

Catastrophic losses impacted the combined ratio, with ₹0.84 billion in 9M FY26 compared to ₹0.94 billion in 9M FY25. Excluding these CAT losses, the combined ratio on 1/n basis was 103.7% for 9M FY26 and 102.9% for 9M FY25.

Regulatory Impact and Adjustments

The implementation of the Code on Social Security, 2020, effective November 21, 2025, created a significant impact of ₹0.55 billion in Q3 FY26. Excluding this regulatory impact, the adjusted metrics showed improved performance:

Combined ratio on 1/n basis: 103.9% for 9M FY26 and 103.5% for Q3 FY26
Combined ratio on n basis: 102.8% for 9M FY26 and 102.2% for Q3 FY26
PAT growth excluding wage code impact: 13.4% for 9M FY26 and -3.3% for Q3 FY26 on 1/n basis

Return on Equity and Capital Efficiency

Return on Average Equity (ROAE) on 1/n basis stood at 19.5% for 9M FY26 compared to 20.8% in 9M FY25. For Q3 FY26, ROAE was 16.5% compared to 21.5% in Q3 FY25. Excluding the impact of the Wage Code, ROAE for 9M FY26 was 19.8% and 17.5% for Q3 FY26.

The company maintained strong capital gains performance with ₹9.33 billion in 9M FY26 compared to ₹7.96 billion in 9M FY25. For Q3 FY26, capital gains reached ₹3.17 billion compared to ₹2.76 billion in Q3 FY25, supporting overall profitability despite operational challenges.

1 Day	5 Days	1 Month	6 Months	1 Year	5 Years
-1.30%	-4.77%	-2.70%	-6.30%	+2.64%	+20.41%

ICICI Lombard General Insurance , India's largest private sector general insurer, reported mixed third quarter results with declining profitability despite strong revenue growth. The company announced its Q3 financial results on January 13, showing the impact of higher claims and expenses on bottom-line performance.

Financial Performance Overview

The insurer's financial metrics for the third quarter present a contrasting picture of growth and profitability challenges:

Financial Metric:	Q3 Current Year	Q3 Previous Year	Change (%)
Net Profit:	₹659.00 crore	₹724.00 crore	-9.00%
Total Income:	₹6,610.00 crore	₹5,882.00 crore	+12.40%
Net Premium Earned:	₹5,685.00 crore	₹5,045.00 crore	+12.70%
Combined Ratio:	104.50%	102.70%	+1.80 pp

Revenue Growth Amid Profitability Pressure

Despite the decline in net profit, ICICI Lombard demonstrated strong top-line growth during the quarter. Total income increased by 12.40% year-on-year to ₹6,610.00 crore, up from ₹5,882.00 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by higher premium collections across the company's insurance portfolio.

Net premium earned during the quarter showed robust expansion of 12.70%, reaching ₹5,685.00 crore compared with ₹5,045.00 crore reported in the same period last year. This indicates the company's continued ability to attract customers and expand its market presence in the competitive general insurance sector.

Combined Ratio Deterioration

The company's combined ratio, a critical metric for insurance companies, worsened to 104.50% from 102.70% in the year-ago period. The combined ratio measures how much an insurance company spends on claims and expenses compared to its earned premiums, with ratios below 100% indicating underwriting profitability.

A combined ratio above 100% suggests that the company is paying out more in claims and expenses than it collects in premiums, which directly impacts profitability. The 1.80 percentage point increase in the combined ratio reflects higher claims costs and operational expenses relative to premium income.

Market Response

Shares of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company ended the trading session at ₹1,890.50 on January 13, declining by ₹19.80 or 1.04% on the BSE. The stock movement reflects investor concerns about the company's profitability metrics despite strong revenue growth.

Key Takeaways

The third quarter results highlight the challenges facing the general insurance sector, where companies must balance growth ambitions with underwriting discipline. While ICICI Lombard successfully grew its premium base and total income, the deterioration in the combined ratio indicates pressure on profitability from higher claims and expenses. The company's ability to maintain its market leadership position while improving operational efficiency will be crucial for future performance.