HDFCLIFE reported an in line growth in premium, led by a 24%/17% YoY growth in the first year/renewal premium. Persistency trends improved across cohorts, with 13th/61st month improving 300bp each YoY to 91%/56%. However, there was a miss on shareholders' earnings by 20% due to higher COVID-19 claims settled. EVOP growth stood flat YoY over 1HFY22, affected by Excess Mortality Reserve (EMR) of INR6b. Excluding EMR, EVOP growth was steady ~34% YoY. On the APE front, the Individual Protection business declined by 8% YoY,...