Tenant, animal husbandry farmers to get insurance cover
The government is planning to expand the highly-subsidised crop insurance cover for farmers by extending the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) benefit to tenant farmers, those engaged in animal husbandry and the holders of Kisan Credit Cards. The move is expected to include many millions more under the insurance cover, besides the widening the crop area insured.

Insurance industry feels the blues as growth slows amid structural issues
 

HDFC Life will keep margins range bound at 25-26%: MD & CEO Vibha Padalkar
Vibha Padalkar, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of HDFC Life Insurance, in an interview with Aathira Varier and Subrata Panda, spoke about how the company bucked the industry trend in terms of growth during Q4 of FY25 while outlining the strategy for FY26.

Edited excerpts:

ICICI Prudential hopes to outperform life insurance industry in terms of APE growth for medium term
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance aims to register more than 13-15 per cent growth in its annualised premium equivalent (APE) for the medium term, as it hopes to outperform the life insurance industry. The private sector life insurer feels it would be difficult to provide APE growth guidance for the current financial year at this point in time due to current market volatility. “It is very difficult to call into next year (FY26), given the current volatility and the environment conditions. However, if you were to look at a medium term perspective, I think we should be able to build a range of 13 per cent to 15 per cent APE growth, definitely as an industry. And, we would like to outperform on that perspective. But over the shorter term, quite difficult to call,” Dhiren Salian, Chief Financial Officer, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said during the company’s Q4FY25 earnings conference call.

HDFC Life to continue to invest in expanding branches for business growth
HDFC Life Insurance will continue to invest in strengthening its distribution network by expanding branches for business growth. This fiscal, the insurer is planning to open around 80-100 branches across the country, mostly in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. “Our VNB (Value of New Business) margin growth will be range bound for FY26, because we need to invest back into business growth in our agency. We added about 117 branches this year (FY25), and 200 branches over the last two years. So, whatever margin uplift I might get, I want to plough it back into the business,” MD & CEO Vibha Padalkar told businessline.

Motor insurance: Driving with expired licence can lead to claim rejection
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has ruled that an insurance claim may be lawfully denied if the driver of the insured vehicle did not hold a valid driving licence at the time of the accident.

Crisil Ratings downgrades United India Insurance rating from AA to AA-
 

The health insurance puzzle: 83% Indians aware but only 19% covered
A latest survey by fintech firm PolicyBazaar highlights a significant disconnect between consumers' intentions, awareness, and actual ownership of health insurance in India. While 28.3% of the 3,955 respondents identified health insurance as a "must-have" product for their financial planning, only 18.7% owned health insurance policies.

Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey calls for collaboration between regulator and industry on corporate governance
 

EPFO set for major digital overhaul soon: Mandaviya
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) was set to undergo a major digital overhaul to enhance services for over 9 crore beneficiaries, with Version 3.0 set to launch by May or June, Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday. In coming days, EPFO beneficiaries would be able to withdraw funds from ATMs due to faster processing of claims on the newer Version 3.0, Mandaviya said.

Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund buys additional shares of Coforge worth ₹231 crore
 

Diversified portfolio, market share to drive asset growth for HDFC AMC
 

MF inflows ride SIP wave amid market volatility, push AUM up by 23%
 

Outperformance galore: Most active equity funds beat benchmarks in FY25