Mumbai, Feb 3 (IANS): State-owned insurance company SBI Life Insurance Tuesday said its net profit for the quarter which ended Dec 31 increased by 43 percent to Rs.156 crore.

The company said its new business premium grew by 25 percent to Rs.1,633 crore during the period under review against Rs.1,303 crore in the same period during the last fiscal year.

The collection of renewal premiums recorded a growth of 33 percent at Rs.1,958 crore from Rs.1,472 crore over the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Operating expenses to GWP ratio was down by 15 percent during the quarter. The company reported strong all-round growth during the quarter.

"We have taken up various measures to further improve our client servicing and quality of sales, including a pre-issuance welcome call that has been well received. We look forward to ending the last quarter of the year on a strong note", SBI LIfe managing director Arijit Basu said in a statement.