India’s only listed life insurer ICICI Prudential Life saw its net profit grow 2 per cent to ₹1,274 crore during the nine months ended December 31, 2016, from ₹1,247 crore in the year-ago period.
Focus on protection business saw the life insurer increase its value of new business (VNB) margin to 9.4 per cent from 8 per cent in FY16.
The company grew its protection business by 122 per cent to ₹174 crore during the period while its savings business grew 25.4 per cent to ₹4,284 crore. VNB grew to ₹421 crore in the nine-month period of the current fiscal from ₹412 crore in FY16.
The life insurer had an overall market share of 13 per cent, the highest among private life insurance companies based on retail weighted received premium (RWRP), during the nine months of FY17. (RWRP is the sum of all retail first-year premiums and 10 per cent of retail single premiums received in a period.)
New business The annualised premium equivalent (the sum of first-year premiums on regular premium policies, and 10 per cent of single premiums written during any period from new retail and group customers) increased 27.6 per cent to ₹4,458 crore during the period from ₹3,494 crore in the year-ago period.
For Q3 FY17, new business APE increased 46.5 per cent to ₹1,845 crore, up from ₹1,259 crore in Q3 FY16.
Quality of business ICICI Prudential Life’s 13th month persistency improved to 83.4 per cent for the nine-month period of FY17 from 80.9 per cent in the year-ago period. (Persistency represents the percentage of retail policies that continue paying premiums).