Chennai, Jan 22 (IANS): Private life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Co Ltd closed the nine month period with a net profit of about Rs 913 crore, said a top company official.

She also said the company will continue to focus on non-unit linked insurance policies or protection products as the segment is expected to grow.

"The protection products are expected to grow. The ticket size may be small. We have been focusing on protection products for the past five years. A number of innovations have been done in this line," Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, told reporters.

Speaking about the results, she said the company earned a total premium (new and renewal) about Rs 18,860 crore for the nine months period ended on December 31, up from Rs 14,608 crore earned during the corresponding period the previous year.

For the period under review, the company posted a net profit of Rs 913 crore as against Rs 762 crore registered for the earlier corresponding nine month period.

"We continue to grow faster than the industry and sustain our leadership position on profitability. Our commitment towards diversification, both in terms of product mix and distribution, has helped us withstand macro as well as regulatory headwinds," Padalkar said.

According to her, HDFC Life has a market share of 21 per cent.

She said the 13-month persistency ratio is at 86 per cent.

Queried about the solvency ratio of 191 per cent, Padalkar said that it was sufficient as the regulatory limit was 150 per cent. She also wondered why some life insurers had higher solvency margins.

According to her, HDFC Life believes on the three tenets of protection: mortality, morbidity and longevity.

Padalkar said the company added 20,000 agents this fiscal, taking the total number of agents to over 97,000.

She said the company was not investing in real estate as a speculative investment.

HDFC Life had infused Rs 116 crore capital in HDFC International to beef up its capital base and to get credit rating.