LIC delays Ind AS adoption to April 2027 after IRDAI relief

Life Insurance Corporation of India will adopt Indian Accounting Standards, or Ind AS, from April 1, 2027 rather than April 1, 2026, after receiving a one-year forbearance from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. LIC’s September 30, 2026 quarterly and half-yearly results therefore remain prepared under Indian GAAP.

Why has LIC postponed Ind AS adoption?

LIC postponed Ind AS adoption because the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, or IRDAI, granted the insurer forbearance to defer the transition by one year. IRDAI’s 2026 amended regulations had mandated insurers to prepare financial statements under applicable Ind AS from April 1, 2026, but LIC disclosed that its effective adoption date is now April 1, 2027.

The disclosure was included in the notes to LIC’s reviewed standalone and consolidated financial results for the quarter and six months ended September 30, 2026. The Audit Committee reviewed and recommended those results, and the Board approved them on November 5, 2026. The filing does not state why IRDAI granted LIC the forbearance or set out the quantitative accounting impact that Ind AS adoption may have.

LIC’s current results have instead been prepared under accounting principles generally accepted in India, known as Indian GAAP, together with Schedule II of the IRDAI (Actuarial, Finance and Investment Functions of Insurers) Regulations, 2024. This means the reported figures for H1 FY2027, including profit after tax of Rs 25,568 crore, are presented using the existing reporting basis rather than Ind AS.

Which financial statements will remain under Indian GAAP?

LIC will continue to prepare its financial statements under Indian GAAP until the April 1, 2027 Ind AS effective date disclosed in its November 5, 2026 filing. The financial results for the quarter and six months ended September 30, 2026 were specifically prepared under Indian GAAP and the 2024 IRDAI regulations.

The filing covers both standalone and consolidated results. LIC’s consolidated financial results include two Indian subsidiaries, five foreign subsidiaries and six associate companies, or 13 entities in addition to the parent insurer. The disclosure does not separately describe whether the deferred timing will affect reporting policies at each subsidiary or associate, so the confirmed point is the accounting basis used in LIC’s published financial statements.

The interim results should also be read with LIC’s stated seasonality caution. The insurer said results for an interim period are not necessarily indicative of results expected for other interim periods or for the full year. That caution applies to the six months to September 30, 2026, during which total premium income was Rs 2,74,269 crore, up from Rs 2,45,680 crore a year earlier.

What reported figures provide the current comparison point?

LIC’s H1 FY2027 results provide a current Indian GAAP comparison point ahead of the planned April 2027 transition. Profit after tax rose 21.52% year on year to Rs 25,568 crore for the six months ended September 30, 2026, from Rs 21,040 crore in the comparable 2025 period, while total premium income increased 11.64%.

The table shows that LIC’s reported profit and premium income both increased under the existing basis, though they rose at different rates. Net value of new business, or VNB, increased by Rs 1,735 crore to Rs 6,846 crore, while the net VNB margin rose 470 basis points to 22.3%. These are disclosed operating metrics, not an Ind AS restatement or a measure of the eventual accounting change.

Other current-basis measures also changed. Assets under management were Rs 59,60,941 crore as of September 30, 2026, up 4.16% from Rs 57,22,896 crore a year earlier, while the solvency ratio rose to 2.35 from 2.13. LIC’s filing does not provide Ind AS comparative balances for these measures, so no direct comparison between Indian GAAP and Ind AS can be drawn from the announcement.

What other accounting items remain in LIC’s results?

LIC’s September 2026 results include regulatory-approved amortisation and replenishment items that will continue to be reflected under the current reporting framework during the disclosed deferral period. Additional family-pension contribution of Rs 9,280.37 crore is being amortised over 20 quarters starting in the third quarter of FY2023-24, with Rs 928.04 crore charged to the revenue account in the six months ended September 30, 2026.

The remaining family-pension balance was Rs 3,712.13 crore at September 30, 2026 and is scheduled to be amortised through the second quarter of FY2028-29. This timetable extends beyond LIC’s planned April 1, 2027 Ind AS adoption date, but the filing does not explain how the unamortised balance will be treated after that transition. It only identifies the current charges and the approved schedule.

LIC also replenished Rs 1,205.02 crore from the shareholders’ account during H1 FY2027 for excess expenses of management in the participating, or Par, segment for FY2022-23. The remaining Rs 1,205.02 crore is to be replenished through the fourth quarter of FY2026-27. Separately, Rs 912.84 crore of additional pension liability for the Par segment was charged to the shareholders’ account in H1 FY2027, leaving Rs 912.85 crore to be charged through the same quarter.

What should readers watch before April 2027?

Readers should watch LIC’s next financial disclosures for any explanation of its Ind AS implementation process, opening balances or comparative presentation before April 1, 2027. The November 5, 2026 announcement confirms the revised start date but does not disclose a conversion impact on profit, assets, liabilities, embedded value or solvency.

Operating trends will remain relevant while Indian GAAP continues. Individual new-business premium grew 14.86% to Rs 32,725 crore in H1 FY2027, while group-business total premium increased 19.62% to Rs 1,13,594 crore. In contrast, individual policies sold declined 2.25% to 70,97,094, showing that premium growth and policy volumes moved differently during the same six-month period.

Management said its current strategy is to maintain roughly one-third of individual annualised premium equivalent, or APE, from non-participating products. Non-participating products accounted for 34.03% of individual APE in H1 FY2027, compared with 36.31% a year earlier, while total APE rose 5.72% to Rs 30,696 crore. These product-mix figures remain reported under the existing accounting framework until the disclosed transition date.

Conclusion

LIC’s immediate accounting outcome is clear: its September 2026 results and subsequent reporting before the transition will continue under Indian GAAP, because IRDAI allowed a one-year postponement of the mandatory Ind AS start. The delay preserves continuity with the basis used to report H1 FY2027 profit after tax of Rs 25,568 crore, premium income of Rs 2,74,269 crore and net VNB of Rs 6,846 crore.

The next milestone is April 1, 2027, when LIC says it will adopt Ind AS. Before then, readers should monitor filings for details of transition effects and for progress on disclosed items scheduled through FY2026-27, including Rs 1,205.02 crore of Par-segment expense replenishment and Rs 912.85 crore of additional pension-liability charges remaining at September 30, 2026.