ICICI Prudential Life (IPRU) posted a sharp improvement in VNB margins at 27.4% (the highest among the listed insurers). This was aided by the growing mix of the Non-Linked Savings business and improvement in Protection margins as the entire re-insurance hike was passed on to the customer. APE declined 23% YoY, mainly led by a 45% YoY plunge in ULIP (reported strong trends on a sequential basis). Persistency rate exhibited a mixed trend; it showed marginal improvement in 13th/61st month, but declined in other cohorts. Overall, persistency in the Protection segment...