News
Ceylinco Life once again voted top life insurer in Sri Lanka for service excellence
Ceylinco Life has retained the top position for service excellence in Sri Lanka’s life insurance sector in an online survey conducted by LMD, Sri Lanka’s pioneering business magazine, to ascertain satisfaction levels of customers in multiple sectors of business.The life insurance leader was voted as the most popular entity for customer service in its category for the second consecutive year, in this survey which garnered over 2,800 responses across 22 categories of service organisations.
Outlining the rationale for the survey, LMD observed that the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have reshaped the expectations of what customer service means, and by extension, urged businesses to reconsider traditional service operations and pivot to a customer experience that is better adapted to current expectations, needs and trends. The online survey aimed to identify the most popular service providers in this context.
Commenting on being ranked No 1 in its category, Ceylinco Life General Manager – Marketing, Mr Samitha Hemachandra said: “Ceylinco Life goes the extra mile to deliver personalised care to its customers. This is why, to counter the disruptions caused by the pandemic, the company transformed its customer services onto digital platforms along with other multiple touch points to ensure consistency of the customer experience. These and other value additions such as tech-based solutions to make life easier for our clients to maintain their policies, have positioned the Company as the top life insurance provider in the Customer Excellence Survey.”
Ceylinco Life conducts internal and external surveys to cover all customer touch points throughout the life cycle of an insurance policy. Operating in compliance with the guidelines set by the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, the Company also leverages its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform to obtain and analyse satisfaction scores, and pursue continuous improvement to ensure quality levels. Its multiple payment channels such as cash deposit machines, points of sale, supermarkets and ATMs at any bank in the country further add to the convenience of customers and expands the reach of the brand, the Company said.
Additionally, the Ceylife customer digital app enables customers to request services through the app, make premium payments or make inquiries 24/7, from anywhere in the world. The Company also stated that its entire sales process is currently on the verge of being digitalised and that it is in the midst of devising innovative life insurance products to match the needs of the current generation including new retirement plans.
LMD’s ‘Customer Service Excellence’ online survey was conducted over a period of nine weeks between July and September 2022. The poll which was hosted on www.LMD.lk asked participants to name their favourite establishment for service excellence, in categories including airlines, banks, hospitals, grocery stores, and hotels. The organisations that earned the highest number of votes in each category were named the most popular service providers in Sri Lanka.
Adjudged the ‘Most Valuable Life Insurance Brand in Sri Lanka’ by Brand Finance and certified a ‘Great Workplace’ in Sri Lanka for the third consecutive year in 2022, Ceylinco Life was declared Sri Lanka’s Service Brand of the Year by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) in 2021 and won the SLIM Kantar Peoples Award as the Most Popular Life Insurance Company in Sri Lanka for the 16th consecutive year, also in 2021. Ceylinco Life has been the country’s leading life insurer for more than half of the 34 years it has been in existence.
Other accolades won in respect of 2021 include the ‘Most Popular Service Provider’ in Sri Lanka’s Life Insurance industry from LMD, the ‘Most Valuable Life Insurance Brand’ in Sri Lanka from Brand Finance, one of the 10 Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka from the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and one of the 10 Best Workplaces in Sri Lanka’s Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector from Great Place to Work.
Ceylinco Life has close to a million lives covered by active policies and provides innovative life insurance solutions which offer protection while de-risking the goals and ambitions of the Company’s policyholders.
News
Whistleblowers ask Treasury Chief to resign over theft of USD 2.5 mn
Payment made to new account number outside agreement
Civil society group ‘Free Lawyers’, which exposed the payment of USD 2.5 mn loan instalment by the Treasury to a third party instead of Australia, yesterday (23) said that in spite of the Treasury having the legitimate bank account mentioned in the relevant agreement, the payment had been made to another account subsequently received from a person who had been in contact with some senior officials.
Civil society activist Keerthi Tennakoon on behalf of ‘Free Lawyers’ emphasised that the account number mentioned in the agreement couldn’t be changed without approval of the Secretary to the Treasury Harshana Suriyapperuma, who is also the Secretary to the Finance Ministry. Suriyapperuma, who quit his National List seat to receive the top appointment, should be held responsible for the unprecedented development, Tennakoon said.
If the Treasury had followed the time-tested procedures in place, a new bank account couldn’t have been introduced, and therefore a thorough investigation was required to reveal the truth.According to Free Lawyers, the scam had been detected by relatively junior officer and not those higher ups.
Free Lawyers’ would continue to follow the developments to ensure transparency in the investigations, Tennakoon said, noting that Suriyapperuma should step down as he was aware of a third party securing root access to the system in September 2025 but failed to take action to prevent the scam. Tennakoon said that the NPPer hadn’t informed relevant authorities, and altogether 16 officials were involved in the scam.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
News
Hambantora port sets new record
Hambantota International Port (HIP) successfully handled container vessel MSC Marie Leslie, marking one of its highest-volume vessel calls to date. The achievement further strengthens the port’s position as an emerging hub for containerised cargo in the region, according to HIP press release.
The vessel, operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), was berthed at HIP from 11 to 15 April 2026. The port achieved 7,968 container moves during this period, translating to a total volume of 13,260 TEUs; the highest single-vessel throughput recorded by HIP to date.
This latest milestone surpasses previous records, including 12,957 TEUs handled on MSC Ilenia and 11,369 TEUs on MSC Ruby in March this year, reflecting a steady upward trend in the port’s container handling performance.
News
US sinking of Iranian frigate off Sri Lanka unprecedented war crime Araghchi tells Vijitha
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has told his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath that US sinking of Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Sri Lankan waters was an unprecedented war crime.
Of some 180 crew only 30 odd personnel survived.
While referring to crimes committed by the United States and Israel against Iran, Araghchi has stressed that they would never forget this crime, which constitutes a grave violation of the fundamental rules of international humanitarian law and the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and would employ all legal and political means to hold the perpetrators and those responsible accountable and bring them to justice.
Araghchi has said so during a telephone conversation with Herath regarding the ongoing West Asia conflict and related developments.
During the phone call, Araghchi expressed appreciation for the Sri Lankan government’s efforts in the rescue operation for the sailors of the IRIS Dena and for assisting in the transfer of the bodies of the crew of the vessel and other Iranian naval personnel back to Iran, according to the Iranian Embassy in Sri Lanka.
US sank Dena as it along with two other Iranian vessels awaited Sri Lanka approval to enter the Colombo port. Iranian ambassador in Colombo Dr. Alireza Delkhosh is on record as having said that the Commander of Sri Lanka Navy invited the Iranian ships to visit Colombo following their participation in International Fleet review and Milan 2026 held in India in late Feb. All Iranian vessels had been unarmed at that time in keeping with protocols regarding the participation in such events.
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