Tarun Chugh of Bajaj Life Insurance emerged as the highest-paid CEO among major Indian life insurers in FY26, earning ₹33.66 crore in total remuneration. According to reports from Business Standard, this represents a 4% increase from the previous year's ₹32.35 crore. The pay package comprised fixed compensation of ₹8.37 crore (entirely pay and allowances) and variable pay of ₹21.50 crore, split between ₹3.79 crore in cash and ₹17.96 crore in non-cash components, along with employee stock options. For accounting purposes, ₹4 crore was charged to the revenue account and ₹22.79 crore to the profit and loss account, taking the total accounting charge to ₹26.79 crore.
The substantial payout came in a robust year for Bajaj Life, whose total premium income rose 21.1% to ₹32,896.9 crore. As reported by Business Standard, Chugh has been leading the insurer since 2017, making him one of the longest-serving CEOs in the sector. The strong financial performance appears to have justified the increased compensation package, reflecting the company's market position and growth trajectory.
The disclosures come as the insurance regulator moves to tighten its oversight of executive compensation. According to Business Standard, IRDAI has revised performance parameters applicable to key management personnel in May, with variable pay and incentives now closer to customer experience, claims servicing, and grievance redress. The changes take immediate effect and will apply to performance assessment from FY27 onwards, linking executive pay to broader parameters including regulatory compliance and grievance redress alongside traditional performance targets.
Kamlesh Rao of Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance was the second-highest earner at ₹10.45 crore, though this was down from ₹11.20 crore in FY25. As reported by Business Standard, his fixed pay stood at ₹4.99 crore including ₹20 lakh in perquisites, while variable pay of ₹5.46 crore was split between ₹2.20 crore in cash and ₹3.26 crore in deferred components, with no share-linked element. Other notable earners included Canara HSBC Life Insurance's Anuj Mathur at ₹10.32 crore (up from ₹6.32 crore), and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance's Anup Bagchi at ₹10.04 crore (up from ₹7.42 crore). At the lower end, SBI Life's Amit Jhingran was paid ₹1.96 crore, while HDFC Life's Vibha Padalkar received ₹9.47 crore.
The figures also highlight a significant pay gap between insurers and their banking parents. According to Business Standard, HDFC Bank's MD and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan earned ₹15.13 crore in FY26, while ICICI Bank's Sandeep Bakhshi was paid ₹10.62 crore — both ahead of their insurance arms' top earners. This comparison underscores the different compensation structures and performance expectations across the financial services sector.
