Ping An Insurance Co., part-owned by banking group HSBC, said its first-half net profit rose 83 percent, boosted by higher gross premium, The Wall Street Journal reported.   As China's second-largest life insurer by premiums, Ping An said its net profit increased from 2.24 billion yuan last year to 4.1 billion yuan. Ping An said gross premiums, the total collected from insurance plans, rose to 37.5 billion yuan from 30.5 billion yuan a year earlier. Net premiums, the total an insurer keeps after reinsurance costs, rose to 32.8 billion yuan from 26.9 billion yuan, wrote the paper. Net investment income rose to 5.8 billion yuan from 4.5 billion yuan. Life insurance continued to be the company's main business, contributing 24.7 billion yuan in premiums, up from 19.6 billion yuan. Bancassurance, the insurance products it sells through banks, fell to 479 million yuan from 721 million yuan.