Rating Rationale
December 27, 2017 | Mumbai
SBI Life Insurance Company Limited
  Rating Reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Financial Strength Rating AAA/Stable (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has reaffirmed its financial strength rating of 'AAA/Stable' on SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd (SBI Life), indicating the highest degree of financial strength to honour obligations of policyholders.
 
The rating continues to reflect the strategic importance to, and expectation of strong support from, State Bank of India (SBI; rated 'CRISIL AAA/Stable/CRISIL A1+'). The rating also factors in the company's position as one of the leading private sector life insurance companies and the benefits that it derives from accessing the wide branch network of the SBI group to sell its insurance products. These rating strengths are partially offset by challenges expected in sustaining profitability amid changing regulatory environment and intense competition.

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
Strengths
* Strategic importance to, and expectation of strong support from, SBI
SBI Life has a strong linkage with SBI reflected in a shared brand name and majority ownership. SBI's presence in the life insurance sector is through SBI Life, which is, therefore, one of the critical subsidiaries for SBI. Furthermore, SBI's commitment to SBI Life is ensured by the fact that the life insurance segment also handles public savings and is very sensitive, and the success or failure of the life insurance arm can have wide implications for SBI's brand image.
 
Furthermore, SBI Life derives significant capital, managerial, and operational support from the parent. SBI Life has the financial flexibility to raise capital whenever necessary, as both its parents, SBI and BNP Paribas Cardif (rated 'A-/Stable' by S&P Global Ratings) are committed to and capable of, infusing capital, in proportion to their ownership. However, SBI Life now being listed, also has the financial flexibility to raise capital from external investors. SBI also has a fairly sizable representation on the board of SBI Life. SBI and SBI Life have a common chairperson. Additionally two members on the board of SBI Life are directors on the board of SBI. The managing director of SBI Life is also deputed from SBI. Moreover, SBI has demonstrated operational support by letting the subsidiary access the SBI group's network of branches and customers for selling insurance products. Also, SBI Life has access to the group's large employee strength to sell insurance products. SBI Life's agency channel is also the most productive agency network among peers. Above efficiency in its major distribution channels allow SBI Life to have the lowest operating expense ratio (calculated as operating expense as a percentage of premiums earned) amongst private life insurance companies.
 
* Strong market position; leading life insurance company among private insurers
SBI Life is the largest player amongst the private sector life insurance companies with a market share of 20%, based on new business premium written in fiscal 2017. The company has been in operation for more than a decade and has a presence across all the states and union territories in the country. As a part of SBI's strategy, there is a strong and renewed focus on tapping the synergies with subsidiaries. The bank's recent focus on cross selling augurs well for SBI Life and will help the latter improve its market share as the contribution of bancassurance channel is expected to improve substantially.
 
Weakness
* Exposure to challenges of sustaining profitability amid changing regulatory environment and intense competition
The regulatory changes in unit-linked products in 2010 and traditional products in 2013, though beneficial, had a far reaching impact on the product design, marketing strategy, and profitability of all the players including SBI Life. Moreover, with the entry of many new players over the past decade, the competitive intensity in the industry has increased multi fold. Large players, like SBI Life, therefore have to be continuously innovative to sustain underwriting performance amid intense competition. Ability to generate adequate profits while managing the expectation of policyholders over the long term will be a key monitorable.
Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes SBI Life will continue to receive strong financial and operational support from SBI over the long term. Also, the company will continue to benefit from the SBI group's low-cost distribution channel. The outlook may be revised to 'Negative' if, in CRISIL's opinion, there is a diminution in SBI Life's strategic importance to SBI, translating into a potential reduction in support from SBI, or weakening, in CRISIL's view, of SBI's credit risk profile.

About the Company

SBI Life was set up in 2001 as a 74:26 joint venture between SBI and BNP Paribas Cardif following the privatisation of India's insurance industry. SBI sold 3.9% stake to strategic investors in December 2016 and 8% of its stake through an initial public offering in the third quarter of fiscal 2018, and presently holds 62.1% stake. BNP Paribas Cardif, a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas, holds 22% stake. BNP Paribas Cardif ranks amongst the top 10 European insurers and is the world leader in credit insurance. It develops and markets its products and services through multiple partners and has a presence in 36 countries.
 
Net profit was Rs 955 crore for fiscal 2017, against Rs 861 crore for fiscal 2016. For the half year ended September 30, 2017,net profit was Rs 539 crore against Rs 428 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The net worth was Rs 6182 crore and solvency margin 2.1 times, as on September 30, 2017.

Key Financial Indicators
As on/For the period ended March 31 Unit 2017 2016
Gross direct premium/Gross premium written Rs crore 21,015 15,825
Profit after tax Rs crore 955 861
Persistency ratio (25th month) % 73.9 73.2
Solvency margin Times 2.0 2.1
 

Any other information: Not applicable

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL complexity levels are assigned to various types of financial instruments. The CRISIL complexity levels are available on www.crisil.com/complexity-levels. Users are advised to refer to the CRISIL complexity levels for instruments that they consider for investment. Users may also call the Customer Service Helpdesk with queries on specific instruments.
Annexure - Details of Instrument(s)
ISIN Name of the instrument Date of Allotment Coupon Rate (%) Maturity Date Issue Size (Rs. Crore) Rating Assigned with outlook
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2017 (History) 2016  2015  2014  Start of 2014
Instrument Type Quantum Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Financial Strength Rating  LT  AAA/Stable    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change    No Rating Change  AAA/Stable 
Table reflects instances where rating is changed or freshly assigned. 'No Rating Change' implies that there was no rating change under the release.
Links to related criteria
Rating Criteria for Life Insurance Companies
Criteria for Notching up Stand Alone Ratings of Companies based on Parent Support

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