Mumbai, Jan 13 (IANS) ICICI Lombard General Insurance, India’s largest private sector general insurer, on Tuesday reported a 9.04 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in its net profit for the October–December quarter of FY26.

The company’s profit fell to Rs 658.88 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 724.38 crore in the same period last financial year (Q3 FY25), according to its stock exchange filing.

Total expenses during the quarter increased by 16.19 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6,039.06 crore, while commission payouts rose by 15.5 per cent to Rs 1,343.1 crore.

The higher cost burden affected the insurer’s bottom line despite healthy growth in business.

The company also said that under the new labour codes introduced by the Government, it estimated an additional gratuity expense of Rs 53.06 crore as past service cost for the quarter and the nine months ended December 31, 2025.

This adjustment led to a corresponding reduction in profit and an increase in gratuity obligations.

As of December 31, 2025, the unrecognised past service cost related to gratuity obligations stood at Rs 16.93 crore.

On the positive side, ICICI Lombard’s business growth remained strong. The company’s gross written premium rose by 14.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 7,432.98 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 6,474.45 crore in Q3 FY25.

Net premium income also increased by 12.7 per cent to Rs 5,685.3 crore. Investment income grew by 8.23 per cent to Rs 909.01 crore during the quarter.

However, claims and operating efficiency showed some pressure. The incurred claims ratio increased to 68.70 per cent in Q3 FY26 from 65.80 per cent a year ago.

The combined ratio also worsened to 104.50 per cent from 102.70 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year, as per its regulatory filing.

Despite this, the company maintained a strong capital position. ICICI Lombard’s solvency ratio stood at 269 per cent as of December 31, 2025, well above the regulatory requirement of 150 per cent and higher than 237 per cent recorded in the year-ago period.

--IANS

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