ICICI Prudential Life announces the highest ever

ICICI Prudential Life announces the highest ever bonus of
`867 crore for policyholders

 

·         15^th consecutive annual bonus reflects the Company's commitment to deliver long-term value to policyholders

 

·         FY2021 bonus 10% higher than the previous year

 

·         Aids 9.8 lakh participating policyholders to get closer to their financial goals

 

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has announced an annual bonus of ` 867 crore for all eligible participating policyholders for FY2021. The bonus declared is the highest ever by the Company till date and is also 10% higher than the bonus announced in the last fiscal.

 

All participating policies in-force as of March 31, 2021 are eligible to receive this bonus and will be added to the policyholders’ benefits. A total of 9.8 lakh participating policyholders will benefit from this, taking them closer to their long-term financial goals. Bonus is the share of profits generated by the Company's participating policyholder's funds which are added to their guaranteed maturity benefits, thus enhancing the corpus.

 

This is the 15^th consecutive year the Company has declared a bonus, underscoring its customer-centricity and long-term investment approach to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns to policyholders. The stringent investment philosophy of the Company has ensured zero defaults in its portfolio since inception and across market cycles. As of March 31, 2021, 96.8% of the fixed income portfolio is invested in sovereign or AAA rated paper.

 

Mr. N S Kannan, Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said, "We are delighted to announce that the annual bonus for FY2021 is the highest ever in the history of the Company. What gives us special satisfaction is the fact that it coincides with the 20^th anniversary of our operations. It demonstrates our customer focus, resilience and ability to navigate through the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic. What drives us in this challenging environment is the commitment to our vision of building an enduring institution that serves the protection and long-term saving needs of our customers with sensitivity."

 

The Company's entire range of traditional long-term products provides customers with safety of capital and steady returns and the life cover provides the much required financial security to the family. Lakshya, the Company’s innovative participating product, caters to the diverse needs of customers ranging from long-term wealth creation to specific  income requirements at different life stages.

ICICI Prudential Life Launches AI

ICICI Prudential Life Launches AI-powered voice chatbot on Google Assistant

·         Simple voice commands for conducting self-service transactions – 'OK Google, I want to speak to ICICI Prudential Life LiGo' or 'May I talk to ICICI Prudential Life LiGo'

·         Provides an easy to use and convenient service touch-point for customers

·         Further strengthens digital platform – additional layer of convenience for customers

·         About 3.5 lakh voice chats per month conducted on Chatbot LiGo

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has introduced its customer service chatbot 'LiGo' on 'Google Assistant'. This would enable the Company's policyholders to have their queries addressed by simple voice commands such as "Ok Google, I want to speak to ICICI Prudential Life LiGo" or "May I talk to ICICI Prudential Life LiGo".

Expanding its innovation quotient by leveraging digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) the Company has added another layer of convenience for its customers. Extending LiGo functionalities to Google Assistant is part of the Company's strategy to be present on platforms preferred by customers and to offer them an immersive experience.

Customers can instantly access information on their policies by activating 'Google Assistant' on their Android smartphones and speaking out their policy number or registered phone number. It is as simple as asking Google for directions or traffic.

In this ever-evolving digital world where speed, efficiency and convenience are continually being enhanced, there has been rapid adoption of AI-powered voice assistants by individuals owing to personalized, and immediate experiences being provided. Available in ‘Indian English’ and with support for nine Indian languages, Google Assistant enables people to have a conversation with Google, and get things done in their world in a natural and personalized way.

Mr. N S Kannan, Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said, "At ICICI Prudential Life, all our innovations hinge around customer-centricity. Sometime back we embarked on our hyper-personalization journey built on the pillars of 3 Vs – Video, Voice and Vernacular. Catering to the evolving needs of our customers, we have enabled our customer service voice bot LiGo on 'Google Assistant', making it accessible on all platforms and devices it is available on. Accessing policy information based on voice commands provides unmatched convenience and instant gratification. With the addition of this digital enabler, there will be a transformation in the way customers interact with the Company. We will continue to innovate to further empower our customers”

By leveraging new-age technologies the Company has introduced a bouquet of digital enablers to address every requirement of a customer during the policy lifecycle – from on-boarding to servicing the needs of the customers. For instance, customers can use the Company’s digital enablers to transact online and each of the digital enablers, i.e. WhatsApp, the Company website, mobile app and Chatbot LiGo are almost equivalent to a virtual branch. On Chatbot LiGo about 3.5 lakh voice chats per month are conducted. Customers can leverage any of these digital enablers to perform an assortment of transactions.

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ICICI Prudential Life posts a resilient performance

ICICI Prudential Life posts a resilient performance amidst a challenging environment

·         Protection mix improves to 26% of overall APE

·         Annuity new business premium registers a growth of 13.1%

·         VNB Margin expands to 24.4%

·         Assets under Management grows 3.6% to Rs. 1.7 trillion

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has posted a 13.1% growth in Annuity new business premium and a 14.2% growth in traditional long-term savings business during Q1-FY2021, over Q1-FY2020 despite the challenges arising due to Covid-19.

 With a new business sum assured of Rs. 937.57 billion for the quarter, the Company has achieved a market leadership position, which is an endorsement of customers’ belief, its innovative products and customer-centric initiatives.

A robust risk management mechanism and investment policy, has ensured zero Non Performing Assets (NPAs) since inception and across market cycles. The Company’s solvency ratio for the quarter stood at 205%, well above the regulatory requirement of 150%.

Mr. N S Kannan, MD & CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said, “

The Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the way consumers perceive life insurance and protection products have therefore seen an increased demand. Even with the movement restrictions in the last quarter, the share of protection in our portfolio increased to 26% of Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE). This resulted in an expansion in the VNB margin from 21% for Q1-FY2020 to 24.4% for Q1-FY2021. Customers trust us to help them achieve their longterm financial goals and despite volatile markets our assets under management grew by 3.6% to Rs. 1.7 trillion for the quarter ended June 2020.

Our robust digital platform enabled us to quickly adapt to the changes in the business environment without any disruption. Besides, our end-to-end digital platform has facilitated a smooth transition of sales processes from a physical to a virtual handshake, which was crucial given the lockdown.”

Mr. Kannan added, “To further strengthen our multi-channel distribution network and to increase our presence in the largely under-penetrated protection opportunity in India, we entered into a bancassurance partnership with IDFC First Bank Ltd. for the distribution of our entire suite of protection and long-term savings products.”

Company Performance

Value of New Business (VNB) growth

The VNB for Q1-FY2021 stood at Rs. 2.01 billion with an expansion in VNB margin from 21.0% in Q1-FY2020 to 24.4% in Q1-FY2021.

Progress on our 4P strategy

Premium Growth

The challenges brought about by the pandemic had an impact on new business premium during the quarter, which decreased from Rs. 22.26 billion in Q1-FY2020 to Rs. 14.99 billion during Q1-FY2021. The Annuity new business premium registered a growth of 13.1% from Rs. 1.91 billion in Q1-FY2020 to Rs. 2.16 billion during Q1-FY2021.

Protection business share

With Rs. 2.14 billion in Q1-FY2021, the Protection APE maintained a consistent performance.  The protection mix improved from 14.6% of APE in Q1-FY2020 to 26.0% of APE for Q1FY2021.

Persistency

The 13th and 49th month persistency ratios have been range-bound and stood at 84.1% and 66.2% respectively at June 30, 2020. Assets under Management stood at Rs. 1.7 trillion as of June 30, 2020.

Productivity

The overall cost ratio i.e. Cost/Total Weighted Received Premium (TWRP) improved from 17.0% in Q1-FY2020 to 14.8% in Q1-FY2021. The cost ratio for the savings line of business also improved from 11.3% in Q1-FY2020 to 8.8% in Q1-FY2021.