Full year numbers land within guidance
Jhingran opened by distancing the company from quarter-to-quarter noise, emphasising that SBI Life manages to annual and medium-term targets. The company had guided for a VNB margin of 26% to 28% at the start of the financial year and delivered 27.4% — toward the upper end of that range. He attributed the outcome to a combination of product mix improvement, cost optimisation, and better operating efficiencies, which helped offset the impact of GST input tax credit on margins. The company intends to hold margins in the same 26% to 28% band going forward.
ULIP share falls, non-ULIP products take centre stage
Over the past two to three years, SBI Life has deliberately shifted its product mix away from ULIPs toward protection, non-participating, and participating segments. The ULIP share of business has come down from 70% to 66%, a move Jhingran said has directly contributed to margin improvement. He was clear that ULIP sales continue to grow in absolute terms, but the faster growth in other product lines is naturally diluting its share. The expectation is that non-ULIP products will account for an even greater proportion of the mix going forward.
Protection business growing at 23%, targeting double digits share
Pure protection is flagged as a top priority. SBI Life registered 23% growth in its protection segment last year after launching competitively priced products, including on SBI’s Yono digital platform. Despite the strong growth rate, protection currently contributes just 4.3% of overall business on an individual rated premium basis. Jhingran confirmed the medium-term goal is to take this to double digits — a significant step up that would have a meaningful positive impact on margins given how high-yielding protection products typically are.
Agency channel expanding with AI-powered training
The bancassurance channel through SBI remains the backbone of SBI Life’s distribution, but the company has been actively building its agency channel for the past three years. Agency currently contributes around 30% of sales and that share is rising. With clarity now emerging from the Insurance Act amendment — which has ruled out open architecture for agents — Jhingran said the company can focus more intently on its own agent force. SBI Life is investing heavily in agent training, combining manual coaching with AI-based tools that assess skills and delivery, with the aim of driving productivity and motivating agents to grow their business.
Regulatory changes: SBI Life says it is ready
On the question of potential changes to the commission and distribution structure being examined by IRDAI, Jhingran took a measured stance. He aligned the company’s position firmly with the regulator’s broader vision of universal insurance coverage by 2047, saying every regulatory change is a step toward that goal. When asked directly about staggered commissions, he stopped short of offering a specific view but emphasised that SBI Life’s 25 years of institutional strength, robust systems, and capable workforce have prepared it to navigate any regulatory shift successfully.
“We have been able to navigate all those challenges and have come out stronger after every challenge,” he said.The overall picture from SBI Life is one of disciplined execution — margins held, product mix improving, distribution broadening, and a clear roadmap for the protection business to become a much bigger part of the story in the years ahead.