The Company registered 19% rise in net premium income in Q1FY2022. The commission expenses moved up 31% and operating expense jumped 55%. Further benefits paid zoomed 118% in Q1FY2022.

The Company is carrying a provision (net of reinsurance) of Rs 498.29 crore for COVID-19 claims end June 2021, which is included in the policy liabilities.

Value of New Business (VNB) surged 78% to Rs 358 crore for Q1FY2022 over Q1FY2021. With an APE of Rs 1219 crore for the Q1FY2022, VNB margin was 29.4% for Q1FY2022 as compared to 24.4% for Q1FY2021. The increase in VNB margin is primarily on account of shift in the underlying product mix.

New business premium surged 71% to Rs 2559 crore for Q1FY2022 from Rs 1499 crore for Q1FY2021. APE was Rs 1219 crore for Q1FY2022, a growth of 48% as compared to Rs 823 crore for Q1FY2021.

Significantly, the Company gained an overall market leadership position in terms of new business sum assured, with a market share of 14.7% in Q1FY2022, up from 12.5% for FY2021.

The Company continued to maintain a well-diversified product mix with strong growth across product segments including the annuity business which grew by 159% year-on-year in Q1FY2022. The contribution from linked savings products stood at 44%, traditional savings products at 29% and protection products at 22% for Q1FY2022. The balance came from group savings products.

The Company's 13th month persistency ratio improved to 87.6% in Q1FY2022, up from 84.1% for the same period last year, indicative of the quality of business being underwritten. Assets under Management stood at Rs 223171 crore end June 2021, a growth of 31% over June 30, 2020. During the quarter, the company crossed Rs 1 trillion in Equity Assets under Management.

The Company offers a range of products across protection and savings solutions to meet the specific needs of customers. During Q1FY2022, retail traditional savings APE grew by 78% from Rs 201 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 357 crore in Q1FY2022, resulting in an improvement in share of APE from 24.4% in Q1FY2021 to 29.3% in Q1FY2022. Protection APE grew by 26.2% to Rs 270 crore and the protection mix stood at 22.1% in Q1FY2022.

As a result, new business sum assured was Rs 176862 crore for Q1FY2022, a growth of 88.6% as compared to Rs 93757 crore for Q1FY2021.

The Company has strong focus on improving the quality of business and customer retention which is reflected in 13th and 49th month persistency ratios. 13th month and 49th month persistency ratios improved to 85.4% and 63.1% respectively for 2MFY2022.

The cost to total weighted received premium (TWRP) ratio for the savings business stood higher at 11.9% in Q1FY2022 as compared to 8.8% in Q1FY2021. Overall cost to TWRP stood at 20.1% in Q1FY2022. While the absolute expenses were higher as compared to the same period last year, the increase in cost is in line with the growth in new business.

The total assets under management of the Company increased 31% to Rs 223171 crore end June 2021 which makes it one of the largest fund managers in India. The Company had a debt-equity mix of 53%:47% end June 2021. 97% of the debt investments are in AAA rated and government bonds.

Company's net worth was Rs 8487 crore end June 2021. The solvency ratio was 193.7% against regulatory requirement of 150%.

Profit after tax decreased from Rs 288 crore in Q1FY2021 to loss of Rs 186 crore in Q1FY2022. The performance highlights for Q1FY2022 are given below:

The solvency ratio was 193.7% against the regulatory requirement of 150%.

Net premium earned (gross premium less reinsurance premium) increased by 18.9% from Rs 5551 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 6602 crore in Q1FY2022.

Total investment income of Rs 9609 crore in Q1FY2022 comprised income of Rs 7751 crore (Investment income Q1FY2021: Rs 12163 crore) under the unit-linked portfolio and an investment income of Rs 1858 crore (Q1FY2021: Rs 983 crore) under the non-unit funds. The investment income under unit-linked portfolio is directly offset by a change in valuation of policyholder liabilities. Unit linked portfolio investment income decreased from Rs 12163 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 7751 crore in Q1FY2022 primarily on account of decrease in the market value of the securities held.

Other income increased from Rs 23 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 25 crore Q1FY2022.

Total expenses (including commission) increased by 41.0% from Rs 862 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 1215 crore in Q1FY2022. Commission expense (including rewards) increased by 30.9% from Rs 207 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 271 crore in Q1FY2022. New business commission (including single premium) has increased from Rs 129 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 183 crore in Q1FY2022. Renewal commission has increased from Rs 72 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 75 crore in Q1FY2022. Operating expenses of Rs 944 crore in Q1FY2022 (Q1FY2021: Rs 655 crore) include unit fund expenses (including goods and service tax on linked charges) amounting to Rs 163 crore (Q1FY2021: Rs 148 crore) under the unit-linked portfolio. The unit fund expenses under unit-linked portfolio are directly offset by a change in valuation of policyholder liabilities.

Operating expenses of other than unit linked portfolio increased by 54.3% from Rs 507 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 781 crore in Q1FY2022 primarily on account of increase in expenses relating to advertisement cost, employee remuneration and welfare benefits and interest on sub-debt.

Claims and benefit payouts increased by 118.3% from Rs 2596 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 5668 crore in Q1FY2022 primarily on account of increase in surrender/withdrawals and death claims. The Company had COVID-19 claims (net of reinsurance) of Rs 500 crore in Q1FY2022.

Change in actuarial liability, including funds for future appropriation, decreased from Rs 14928 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 9569 crore in Q1FY2022. Fund reserve, which represents liability carried on account of units held by unit linked policyholders, decreased from Rs 13166 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 6536 crore in Q1FY2022. The decreased in fund reserves is primarily due to lower investment income in the unit linked portfolio. Non-unit reserve increased from Rs 1777 crore in Q1FY2021 to Rs 3167 crore in Q1FY2022.

The embedded value per share stood at Rs 203.8 per share end June 2021

N S Kannan, MD & CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said, "During these difficult times, we remain sensitive to lost lives, health and livelihood issues and continue to prioritise employee, customer and distributor safety. Life insurance has a larger societal role to play in enabling families to have financial security. In this context, our focus during this pandemic has been to help the families of our customers in their hour of need, by settling genuine claims expeditiously.

Despite the challenges posed by the second wave of the pandemic, we have been able to demonstrate both resilience and growth in this quarter. Through our innovative and comprehensive suite of products, distribution strength, robust technology, superior customer service and strong risk management architecture, our new business premium grew by 71% year-on-year to Rs 2559 crore in Q1FY2022. Further, we are delighted to have achieved the distinction of becoming the overall market leader in terms of new business sum assured, which grew 89% year-on-year to Rs 1.77 trillion.

Our VNB grew by 78% year-on-year to Rs 358 crore in Q1FY2022, reflecting the growing profitability of our business. The VNB margin too increased from 24.4% for Q1FY2021 to 29.4% for Q1FY2022. With this strong growth momentum along with our well-diversified product and distribution mix, we believe we are well positioned to achieve our stated objective of doubling our FY2019 VNB by FY2023."

Financial Performance FY2021

The Company's profit before tax was Rs 1081 crore for FY2021, a growth of 1.1% as compared to Rs 1069 crore for FY2020. Tax charge increased from Nil in FY2020 to Rs 121 crore in FY2021 on account of withdrawal of dividend exemption and no final dividend paid by Company for FY2020, resulting in a higher taxable surplus. The Company's profit after tax was Rs 960 crore for the year ended March 2021 as compared to Rs 1069 crore for the year ended March 2020. Profit after tax decreased from Rs 1069 crore in FY2020 to Rs 960 crore in FY2021.

Net premium earned (gross premium less reinsurance premium) increased by 6.4% from Rs 32879 crore in FY2020 to Rs 34973 crore in FY2021.

Total investment income of Rs 48158 crore in FY2021 comprised income of Rs 42153 crore (Investment income loss FY2020: Rs 16072 crore) under the unit-linked portfolio and an investment income of Rs 6004 crore (FY2020: Rs 3955 crore) under the non-unit funds. The investment income under unit-linked portfolio is directly offset by a change in valuation of policyholder liabilities. Unit linked portfolio investment income increased from loss of Rs 16072 crore in FY2020 to income of Rs 42153 crore in FY2021 primarily on account of increase in market value of the securities held.

Other income increased from Rs 81 crore in FY2020 to Rs 94 crore in FY2021.

Total expenses (including commission) decreased by 4.1% from Rs 5125 crore in FY2020 to Rs 4921 crore in FY2021. Commission expense (including rewards) decreased by 5.4% from Rs 1586 crore in FY2020 to Rs 1500 crore in FY2021. New business commission (including single premium) has decreased from Rs 1140 crore in FY2020 to Rs 1032 crore in FY2021. Renewal commission has increased from Rs 382 crore in FY2020 to Rs 398 crore in FY2021.

Operating expenses of Rs 3416 crore in FY2021 (FY2020: Rs 3539 crore) comprised of unit fund expenses (including goods and service tax on linked charges) amounting to Rs 669 crore (FY2020: Rs 664 crore) under the unit-linked portfolio. The unit fund expenses under unit-linked portfolio is directly offset by a change in valuation of policyholder liabilities. Operating expenses of other than unit linked portfolio decreased by 4.4% from Rs 2875 crore in FY2020 to Rs 2747 crore in FY2021 primarily on account of decrease in expenses relating to employee remuneration and welfare benefits, travel and business conferences expenses.

Claims and benefit payouts increased by 16.8% from Rs 19377 crore in FY2020 to Rs 22641 crore in FY2021 primarily on account of increase in surrenders/withdrawals and death and maturity claims. The Company had COVID-19 claims (net of reinsurance) of Rs 215 crore.

Change in actuarial liability, including funds for future appropriation, increased from Rs (4859) crore in FY2020 to Rs 54445 crore in FY2021. Fund reserve, which represents liability carried on account of units held by unit linked policyholders, increased from Rs (13861) crore in FY2020 to Rs 41464 crore in FY2021. The increase in fund reserves is primarily due to higher investment income in the unit linked portfolio. Non-unit reserve increased from Rs 8803 crore in FY2020 to Rs 12860 crore in FY2021.