Total income declined 16.1% year on year to Rs 11,759.30 in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

The net premium income for the quarter rose 11.18% YoY to Rs 12,629.11 crore. The first year gross premium income for the insurer surged nearly 33% YoY to Rs 2,632.84 crore, while single premium income increased 6.89% to Rs 3,128.91 crore.

Net commission grew by 35.42% YoY to Rs 753.51 crore during the quarter.

The company's operating expenses jumped during the quarter. Advertising and Publicity expenses soared 45.55% YoY to Rs 741.15 crore.

On a full year basis, the company's net profit rose 7.5% to Rs 810.67 crore on 20.5% decline in total income to Rs 51,355.50 crore in FY23 over FY22. The net premium income rose 6.16% YoY to Rs 38,559.53 crore in FY23.

The private sector life insurer said that it has posted a strong performance for the year ended 31 March 2023. The Value of New Business (VNB), representing profitability, grew to Rs 2,765 crore in FY23, a year on year growth of 27.8%. The VNB margin also expanded to 32.0% in FY23 from 28% recorded in FY22. The company has thus achieved its stated objective of doubling the FY2019 VNB by FY2023, it added.

The robust VNB growth across the four-year period has been driven by the successful implementation of the 4P strategy comprising Premium growth, Protection business growth, Persistency improvement and Productivity enhancement while keeping customer centricity at the core, and integrating ESG into business management.

During FY2023, annualised premium equivalent (APE), a measure of new business, grew YoY by 11.7% to Rs 8,640 crore. A combination of factors including an extensive distribution footprint coupled with the broadening of product propositions to cater to an expanded customer base spread across various income segments, have enabled the company to register strong growth in its premium across distribution channels and products.

For FY2023, protection APE grew by 14.5% YoY to Rs 1,504 crore. The new business sum assured grew by 34.7% year on year to Rs 10,40,000 crore.

The company has reported significant improvement in persistency across all cohorts compared to FY2022. The 13th month persistency ratio improved by 90 basis points to 86.6% in 11M-FY23 and the 61st month persistency improved by 1,130 basis points to 65.7% in 11M-FY23.

Asset under Management rose 4.4% YoY to Rs 2,51,191 crore at 31 March 2023, it signifies customer trust in the company. The solvency ratio for FY23 stood at 208.9%, well above the minimum regulatory requirement of 150%.

N S Kannan, MD & CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said “In April 2019 we had articulated our aspiration to double the FY2019 VNB in four years. It gives me immense pleasure to state that we have successfully delivered this with a VNB of Rs 27.65 billion and industry leading margin of 32.0%. This VNB was delivered along with strong quality of business as can be seen from the sharp improvements in our persistency ratios across all cohorts.

Our strategy of pursuing a diversified distribution and a well diversified product mix has enabled us to deliver 26.5% year-on-year growth in APE (APE) in Q4-FY2023. Our focus on protection and annuity products is reflected in the growth in these segments. These products together now contribute nearly half of the new business received premium for FY2023.

We believe that we have built a resilient business with well-diversified product & channel mix, industry leading quality parameters, and strong risk & capital metrics. With this, we are well poised to take advantage of the insurance opportunity in the coming years.”

Meanwhile, the company's board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 0.60 per equity share the financial year 2022-23. The dividend will be paid to the eligible members within 30 days from the declaration at the ensuing Annual General Meeting of the company.

ICICI Prudential Life is promoted by ICICI Bank and Prudential Corporation Holdings, headquartered in United Kingdom. The company offers and array of products in the protection and savings category which match the different life stage requirements of customers, enabling them to provide a financial safety net to their families as well as achieve their long term financial goals.

Shares of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company declined 1.93% to Rs 447.05 on the BSE.