ICICI Lombard Q2 FY26 Concall Decoded: “Insuring India’s optimism—one GST reform at a time”
1. Opening Hook
Remember when insurance agents used to chase us during Diwali to “protect” our future? Well, this time it’s ICICI Lombard’s turn to chase growth. The CEO’s opening line might as well have been, “GST ne humare bhi premium badha diye.” From a sovereign rating upgrade to a 100-bps rate cut, the macro gods seem to have finally gifted insurers a festival season worth underwriting. But as always, the devil hides behind the combined ratio.
Hold your breath, because by the end of this call you’ll realize—this insurer just turned policy math into performance art. 😏
2. At a Glance
Gross Written Premium ₹151.1B (↑1.6%) – Growth so slow it needs a treadmill.
GDPI ₹143.3B (↓0.5%) – Blame Crop & Mass Health; industry grew 7.3%, they sneezed.
PAT ₹8.2B (↑18%) – The profits worked overtime even as premiums took a nap.
Combined Ratio 105.1% – CAT losses flooded the balance sheet, literally.
ROE 21.4% – Efficiency sharper than your broker’s haircut.
Interim Dividend ₹6.50/share – A sweetener while you wait for real premium growth.
3. Management’s Key Commentary
“GST reforms will turbocharge consumer sentiment and make healthcare more affordable.” (Translation: We finally have something good to tweet about besides ‘seamless digital journeys.’)
“Our Retail Health business grew 25.2%, way ahead of industry’s 9.3%.” (Translation: We’ve officially become the gym rat of health insurance—flexing gains every quarter.) 💪
“Motor growth slowed to 2.2%, but September saw a sharp uptick post-GST cuts.” (Translation: We prayed to the auto gods, and Navratri delivered.)
“Combined Ratio at 104% due to floods.” (Translation: Nature reminded us we’re in the general insurance business, not divine insurance.) 🌧️
“IL TakeCare app crossed 18.4M downloads.” (Translation: More people use our app than actually buy our policies—yet we’ll call it engagement.)
“ROAE at 20.8% shows sustainable profitability.” (Translation: We’re still printing cash even when premiums slow—try that, tech bros.)
