SmallCap Value Account I (Prospectus Summary) | SmallCap Value Account I

SmallCap Value Account I

Objective:

The Account seeks long-term growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses of the Account

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold
shares of the Account. These fees and expenses do not reflect the fees and
expenses of any variable insurance contract that may invest in the Account and
would be higher if they did.

Annual Account Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses SmallCap Value Account I		Class 1	Class 2
Management Fees		1.10%	1.10%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees			0.25%
Other Expenses		0.05%	0.05%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses		0.06%	0.06%
Total Annual Account Operating Expenses		1.21%	1.46%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	[1][2]	0.16%	0.16%
Total Annual Account Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement		1.05%	1.30%

Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the
Account with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Account for the time periods
indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The
Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the
Account's operating expenses remain the same. If separate account expenses and
contract level expenses were included, expenses would be higher. Although your
actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would
be:

Expense Example SmallCap Value Account I (USD $)	Expense Example, With Redemption, 1 Year	Expense Example, With Redemption, 3 Years	Expense Example, With Redemption, 5 Years	Expense Example, With Redemption, 10 Years
Class 1	107	363	644	1,447
Class 2	132	441	777	1,728

Portfolio Turnover

The Account pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in
annual Account operating expenses or in the example, affect the Account's
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Account's portfolio
turnover rate was 72.2% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Account invests at least 80% of its net assets
in a diversified group of equity securities of U.S. companies with small market
capitalizations (those with market capitalizations similar to companies in the
Russell 2000® Value Index (as of December 31, 2011, this range was between
approximately $20 million and $3.7 billion)) at the time of purchase. The
Account invests in value equity securities, an investment strategy that
emphasizes buying equity securities that appear to be undervalued. The Account's
assets may be invested in real estate investment trusts.
  
Principal Management Corporation invests between 10% and 40% of the Account's
assets in equity securities in an attempt to match or exceed the performance of
the Account's benchmark index by purchasing securities in the index while
slightly overweighting and underweighting certain individual equity securities
relative to their weight in the Account's benchmark index.

Principal Risks

The Account may be an appropriate investment for investors seeking long-term
growth and willing to accept volatile fluctuations in the value of their
investment.

The value of your investment in the Account changes with the value of the
Account's investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to
lose money by investing in the Account. An investment in the Account is not a
deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of
investing in the Account, in alphabetical order, are:

Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities (common, convertible preferred stocks
and other securities whose values are tied to the price of stocks, such as
rights, warrants and convertible debt securities) could decline in value if the
issuer's financial condition declines or in response to overall market and
economic conditions. A fund's principal market segment(s), such as large cap,
mid cap or small cap stocks, or growth or value stocks, may underperform other
market segments or the equity markets as a whole. Investments in smaller
companies and mid-size companies may involve greater risk and price volatility
than investments in larger, more mature companies.

Real Estate Investment Trusts ("REITs") Risk. A REIT could fail to qualify for
tax-free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code, and fund
shareholders will indirectly bear their proportionate share of the expenses of
REITs in which the fund invests.

Value Stock Risk. The market may not recognize the intrinsic value of value
stocks for a long time, or they may be appropriately priced at the time of
purchase.

Performance

The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in
the Account by showing changes in the Account's performance from year to year
and by showing how the Account's average annual returns for 1, 5, and 10 years
(or, if shorter, the life of the Account) compare with those of one or more
broad measures of market performance. Past performance is not necessarily an
indication of how the Account will perform in the future. Performance figures
for the Accounts do not include any separate account expenses, cost of
insurance, or other contract-level expenses; total returns for the Accounts
would be lower if such expenses were included.

Performance of the Class 2 shares for periods prior to inception of the class
reflects performance of the Class 1 shares, which have the same investments as
Class 2 shares, but has been adjusted downward to reflect the higher expenses of
Class 2 shares.

Calendar Year Total Returns (%) as of 12/31 each year (Class 1 Shares)

Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar                             
chart above:                                                      Q2 '03        23.76 %
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar                              
chart above:                                                      Q4 '08       -25.12 %

Average Annual Total Returns (%) For the periods ended December 31, 2011

Average Annual Total Returns SmallCap Value Account I	Average Annual Returns, Label	Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	Average Annual Returns, Inception Date
Class 1	SmallCap Value Account I - Class 1	(3.66%)	(2.73%)	6.37%	May 01, 1998
Class 2	SmallCap Value Account I - Class 2	(3.89%)	(2.94%)	6.15%	Jan. 08, 2007
Russell 2000 Value Index	Russell 2000 Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	(5.50%)	(1.87%)	6.40%

[1] Principal Management Corporation ("Principal"), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Account's Management Fees through the period ending April 30, 2013. The fee waiver will reduce the Account's Management Fees by 0.02% (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis). It is expected that the fee waiver will continue through the period disclosed; however, Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc. and Principal, the parties to the agreement, may agree to terminate the expense limit prior to the end of the period.

[2] Principal Management Corporation ("Principal"), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Account's expenses attributable to Class 1 and Class 2 shares and, if necessary, pay expenses normally payable by the Account, excluding interest expense and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, through the period ending April 30, 2013. The expense limit will maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.99% for Class 1 shares and 1.24% for Class 2 shares. It is expected that the expense limit will continue through the period disclosed; however, Principal Variable Contracts, Inc. and Principal, the parties to the agreement, may agree to terminate the expense limit prior to the end of the period.