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Informist, Wednesday, May 6, 2026

By Aaryan Khanna and Shweta

NEW DELHI – PB Fintech Ltd.'s immediate focus is on growing its businesses across verticals and enhancing the quality of its products rather than on profits, the management said in a conference call with analysts following its March quarter results. In this regard, its conversion rate in adding customers on its online PolicyBazaar portal has gone up significantly since the goods and services tax rate on insurance products was cut to 0% in September.

"While a lot of questions come around profits, that has not been our focus," the management said. "Of course, if you are doing growth and quality, profits can't elude you forever."

The management guided for total business growth of 30% in financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) but aims to beat it, as it had done with previous guidances. Since GST on insurance policies was cut to 0% from 18%, ticket size on health insurance products has gone up as consumers have opted for higher schemes with higher coverage. There has also been some increase in demand for long-term health insurance products, while for term insurance, the sum assured has not increased substantially, but customers are opting for more riders on policies. In Jan-Mar, PB Fintech's revenue from insurance premiums grew 46% on year to INR 92.17 billion, with overall growth in FY26 at 42%. 

"In health, for the last 13 quarters we have grown at 60% plus," the management said. "Matlab, bachche ki jaan loge kya? (How much more do you want?)"

However, lending disbursal fell 32% on year in the March quarter. The fall in lending was because the company had shut down its wholesale point-of-sale person business in January, which had a high growth rate but did not align with its strategic vision nor was there great profitability, the management said. All other business segments grew at a strong pace during the quarter, they said. 

PB Fintech said it would be among the least affected in the industry from regulatory changes on insurance accounting. The firm had been asking its partners in insurance companies to pay them on a deferred basis for the past decade, with commissions not to be paid upfront but annually based on the length of the policy and the persistency ratio. PolicyBazaar's high persistency would limit any losses from this accounting method and it was more profitable than any insurance company in selling those products, the management said.

As for a cap on commissions to be paid, the management said it had no comment and had not heard anything from the regulator. Several media reports have appeared in the last few weeks that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India would impose a cap on commissions to be paid to distributors such as PolicyBazaar. Some of the regulatory changes may lead to a small fall in profitability in its health insurance business, but the management sees its "take rate" being maintained around the current 16% for the online business. 

On the technology front, PB Fintech was exploring artificial intelligence use on a company-wide level. It had seen some productivity gains in its sales and customer service teams from the use of new technology. However, the management said it did not see the use of AI as driving margins in the near term. The financial services company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 2.61 billion in the March quarter, with its profit margin improving to 13% from 11% from the year-ago quarter.

The company's non-resident business, Policybazaar.ae, took a little hit due to the military conflict among US-Israel and Iran, that also led to attacks in the United Arab Emirates, the management said. However, the business still managed to grow 10-12% in the reporting quarter and was up 3% in March alone despite a complete system outage a few days into the outbreak of war. Meanwhile, the company said it did not immediately have any plans for inorganic growth and was not considering any acquisitions at either the board level or the management level and was not actively looking at any such opportunities. 

PAISABAZAAR, SAVINGS BUSINESS

The other core online business, PaisaBazaar, had grown from strength to strength under new Chief Executive Officer Santosh Aggarwal after her appointment in March last year, the management said. The productivity of employees had risen several times and PaisaBazaar had positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation in the March quarter.

The segment's contribution to the consolidated profit after tax is seen rising significantly in the current financial year, the management said. Operating leverage is likely to increase as the rollout of several schemes in the coming months will not drive up costs, while profits and margins will improve in FY27. PB Fintech Group Chief Executive Officer Yashish Dahiya said he expects PaisaBazaar to list independently in four to five years.

The vertical was now looking to increase customer engagement and offer more financial products in a bid to be a broader financial services provider. The management expects the PB Fintech branding to differentiate itself from other financial product aggregators going ahead. The company has applied for a stockbroker licence and a mutual fund licence from the Securities and Exchange Board of India to expand its savings business, offered through PaisaBazaar. 

The stockbroker licence is seen as a stepping stone to sell bonds, which was a very efficient consumer product, the management said. It's a new industry and activity is increasing, but the company will carve out its own space and has entered at the right time. Initial experiments with the platform had shown early success, they said.

As for mutual funds, the business was an established one but meshed with the group's other product offerings, the management said. Initial ideas to differentiate the product included plans for a daily systematic investment plan offering rather than a monthly one, but the schemes could take two to three years to fructify. However, this would lead to much higher customer engagement in the PaisaBazaar portal and lead to more cross-selling opportunities, the management said. 

Another growth lever for the savings business was the sale of Unit Linked Insurance Plans, which offer a fixed lock-in and are the only fixed income product that gave tax savings to consumers, making it an attractive selling point at a time of equity market volatility, the management said. 

PB HEALTH, CORPORATE BROKING

In terms of other new initiatives, the management spoke at length about PB Health, its healthcare delivery platform. The group company was in the final stages of raising capital but had not approached PB Fintech's board for consideration. The parent has a clause which allows it to invest on a par with its 28% stake on any fresh capital infusion and the board might mull an investment based on the conditions, Dahiya said.

The healthcare vertical operates One Hospitals in Noida. It plans to open a new hospital in Gurugram in May, followed by another in New Delhi and then expand beyond the National Capital Region. The plan for growth in this vertical is to deliver "red-carpet" experiences for customers in the hospitals that PB Health has tied up with nationwide, which exceed 500 hospitals currently. These will eventually be assimilated into being operated by the company.

"So, of this 500-600 hospital network, we will take on some of them. And start operating them under the PB Health brand," the management said. 

The gains in the corporate broking business, another new initiative, have also been exceptional on a small base. The segment is now the eighth-largest corporate broker in the country and plans to climb further up the rankings. Its potential for profitability is on a par with the core insurance broking business and may improve with larger scale, the management said. PB Fintech had managed to win marquee corporate accounts from competitors in the broking business in the March quarter, they said. 

"So we are very happy with the progress of that business. Yes, it does make a small amount of loss, which is perfectly fine," the management said. "I think the group can easily afford it for a few more years."  End

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

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