ICICI Prudential Life's pre-tax profit rises 8.36% to Rs 311 cr in Q1

Private sector insurer ICICI Prudential Life Insurance reported a 8.36 per cent growth in its pre-tax profit at Rs 311 crore in Q1FY21 compared to Rs 287 crore in Q1FY20 due to growth in renewal premiums and de-growth in expenses on account of the cost cutting measures undertaken by the company. The net profit of the private insurer grew 1 per cent to Rs 288 crore versus Rs 285 crore on account of higher effective tax.

The company reported a year on year decline of 32.6 per cent in new business premium to Rs 1,499 crore in Q1FY21 compared to Rs 2,226 crore in the year ago period. The annualized premium equivalent (APE) of the insurer also declined 44 per cent year on year to Rs 823 crore. Under APE, the savings segment declined 51.5 per cent to Rs 609 crore and the protection segment was flat at Rs 214 crore.

Value of new business (VNB) of the insurer was down 35 per cent to Rs 201 crore in Q1FY21 compared to Rs 309 crore in the corresponding period last year. However, the VNB margin increased more than 300 basis points to 24.4 per cent in Q1FY21 due to an increased focus on the protection segment. The protection mix on an APE basis of the insurer has grown to 26 per cent in the June quarter from 15 per cent, a year ago.

The net premium earned by the insurer declined 10.58 per cent to Rs 5,551 crore in the June quarter compared to Rs 6,208 crore and the insurers’ investment income jumped more than 6 times to Rs 13,150 crore compared to 2,094 crore.

The thirteenth month and 49th month persistency of the insurer stood at 84.1 per cent and 66.2 per cent, respectively at the end of June quarter.

The insurer reported a solvency ratio of 2.05 against a regulatory requirement of 1.5. The company said that while it was holding additional reserves for a potential rise in Covid-19 related death claims, so far it had only received 69 Covid-19 death claims.