The September quarter (Q2) saw different shades of performance by life insurance companies and the pressure on their unit-linked products was patently visible. In terms of profitability, HDFC Standard Life overshadowed its peers ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and SBI Life in performance. HDFC Life reported a robust 28% growth in value of new business and a huge 43% increase in new business premium. As a consequence, its value for new business margin was 24.3%, the highest among the three insurers who have reported results so far.
