Mumbai, Nov 22 (IANS): Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd on Thursday said its fresh business had increased by 52 per cent during the first half of the current fiscal.

The company also said it would expand its branch network 236 by the end of this year from the current 216 branches.

In a statement issued here, the company said it had procured fresh business of Rs 398 crore during the half of the current fiscal up from Rs 262 crore earned in the previous year corresponding period.

The company posted 21 per cent rise in its renewal premium to Rs 453 crore in the half year ended on September 30, as compared to Rs 374 crore in the same period during 2017-18.

The total premium rose over 34 per cent to Rs 851 crore in the first six months of the current fiscal from Rs 636 crore in the first half of the last financial year.

"We grew faster than the industry in the half year of 2018-19 and are confident of sustaining the growth momentum in the second half of the current fiscal. Our focus on traditional products, cost management, customer centricity and digitisation will help us achieve qualitative performance in the journey of growth," Vikas Seth, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, was quoted as saying in the statement.

"We have added 30 new branches during the April-September period of this fiscal, taking the branch count to 216.

"In the second half of 2018-19, we will set up 20 more new branches for which the company has already received approval from IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India)," he added.

The 13th month persistency improved to 67.5 per cent as on September 30, reflecting the focus on quality business, as against 64.4 per cent on September 30, 2017.