ICICI Lombard General Insurance has reported an inadvertent disclosure of its unaudited draft financial results through an employee's personal WhatsApp Status, prompting the company to initiate an internal investigation and report the incident to stock exchanges as a precautionary measure.

Incident Details

On January 9 at approximately 5:44 p.m., a designated employee accidentally uploaded information related to the company's unaudited draft financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2025, on their personal WhatsApp Status. The company confirmed that the post was deleted within an hour of being uploaded, limiting the potential exposure of the sensitive financial information.

Regulatory Response and Investigation

ICICI Lombard has taken immediate action following the incident by reporting it to stock exchanges in accordance with corporate governance practices. The company emphasized that the information shared was in draft form and subject to changes during the ongoing audit process.

The insurer has initiated an internal inquiry under the following regulatory frameworks:

• SEBI's Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations, 2015
• Company's own Insider Trading Code

The outcome of this investigation will be communicated to the stock exchanges once the inquiry is concluded.

Corporate Governance Measures

The incident will be formally addressed through the company's governance structure, with discussions scheduled for upcoming meetings of both the Audit Committee and Board of Directors. This demonstrates the company's commitment to transparency and proper oversight of such incidents.

ICICI Lombard has also committed to making information about the incident available on its official website, ensuring stakeholders have access to relevant details about the disclosure.

Investor Advisory

The company has issued a clear advisory to investors, cautioning them not to rely on any financial information unless it has been officially released following board approval of audited results. This standard practice helps protect investors from making decisions based on preliminary or unverified financial data.

Industry Context

This incident follows a similar occurrence on January 5, when key managerial personnel at Hatsun Agro inadvertently shared draft Q3 financial results on their WhatsApp Status, highlighting the growing challenge of maintaining information security in the digital age across the corporate sector.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company disclosed on Saturday that a designated employee inadvertently uploaded draft third quarter financial statements to personal WhatsApp status, marking the second such corporate data breach incident within a week. The company immediately reported the matter to stock exchanges as a precautionary compliance measure.

Incident Details and Timeline

The breach occurred on January 9 at approximately 5:44 p.m., when the designated person uploaded draft Q3 financial figures to their personal WhatsApp status before subsequently deleting the content. The company emphasized in its exchange filing that the information was in draft form and subject to changes during the ongoing audit process.

Corporate Governance Response

ICICI Lombard stated it will inform the Audit Committee and board about the incident shortly and conduct an internal investigation as per regulatory requirements. The company did not disclose the name or designation of the employee involved in the breach. The inquiry committee's findings will be made public following the investigation.

"Though this information is in draft form and subject to changes during the ongoing audit, as a precautionary measure and in compliance with good corporate governance practices, the Company is reporting this incident to the Stock Exchanges," the company stated in its filing.

Similar Recent Incident

This incident follows a comparable breach at Hatsun Agro Product Ltd. earlier this week, where a senior executive accidentally uploaded draft Q3 financial figures to personal WhatsApp status on Sunday evening. The Hatsun Agro incident involved approximately 19 viewers from the executive's contact list, including company insiders, before the status was deleted within an hour.

Regulatory Framework

The Securities and Exchange Board of India maintains strict insider trading regulations under the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations, 2015. These rules prohibit company insiders from trading or communicating Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) to gain unfair advantages in securities markets. Both incidents potentially involve UPSI, requiring comprehensive disclosure and investigation protocols.