ICICI Prudential Life Insurance on Thursday reported a 211 per cent growth in its premium income for the third quarter ended December 2003 over the corresponding period last year, and said it has become the first private insurer to cross the Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) milestone in received premiums.

The growth in number of policies issued was about 103 per cent, while sum assured growth was 43 per cent, a company press release said in Mumbai.

Total number of policies issued stand at more than 550,000 and total sum assured is in the excess of Rs 13,000 crore (Rs 130 billion), it said.

The range of unit-linked policies has been the key driver of this growth, contributing 80 per cent of business in April-December 2003, it said, adding the average premium income on a policy has risen about 83 per cent to nearly Rs 19,600, over the comparable period in the last fiscal. 

"ICICI Prudential has had a very good quarter, demonstrating both value and volume driven growth. Unit-linked funds continue to rule the product mix, and fund performance has been very encouraging, showing growths of 5.1 per cent on the Maximiser fund, 36.1 per cent on the Balancer fund and 8.2 per cent on the Protector fund over the past year," Shikha Sharma, CEO and managing director of the company, said.

The company's group business is also beginning to show results, with restructured group gratuity, superannuation and term products attracting 85 corporate clients.

It has also invested considerably in expanding the advisor base and distribution and building infrastructure to meet demand in the coming months, the release added.