HDFC Life Insurance Co Ltd reported a 14.4% decline in the net profit for the quarter ended March, hurt by losses on investments.

The life insurer reported a net profit of Rs 311.71 crore in the March quarter, compared with Rs 364.01 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Its premium income in the quarter edged up 2.1% to Rs 10,464.6 crore from Rs 10,247.50 crore in the same period a year before.

In a conference call , Vibha Padalkar, managing director and CEO said the company took a hit of around Rs 1,100 crore in terms of renewal and new business premium put together due to the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent nationwide lockdown.

Padalkar said HDFC Life may have take a hit to the tune of around Rs 400-500 crore in its new business premium, and around Rs 600 crore in its renewal premium.

"The impact of outbreak has been seen on new business and renewals. However, we believe the structural story remains intact," she said.

The company has set up a Covid Reserve Fund with reserves to the tune of Rs 41 crore, covering around 4,500 lives.

Padalkar said she might look at having one-man branches, with most of the staff working from home, if the lockdown persists for a long period of time.

The board also approved raising of up to Rs 600 crore via non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

"The fund raising in an enabling resolution.. We were thinking about doing it at the end of February too. It is good to have a strong solvency number more from a growth point of view," said Padalkar.

For the fiscal year 2020, the company's annualized premium equivalent rose 18% to Rs 7,407 crore.

The company's total premium for the year rose by 12% to Rs 32,7070 crore. Its value of new business (VNB) registered a growth of 25% in the year to Rs 1,919 crore. The net profit for the year rose by a mere 1% to Rs 1,295 crore.

"We continue to deliver growth higher than industry and register steady performance across all key metrics. We believe that insurance remains a multi-decade opportunity with significant potential," Padalkar said in a release.

"The opportunities across mortality, morbidity and longevity remain large in our country. Customer-centricity, product innovation, a diversified distribution network, and technological capabilities are key pillars of our strategy and enablers to provide a sustainable value proposition to our customers, partners and shareholders," she added.