‘Sri Lankans have a high dependency on their relations and friends when it comes to an emergency or calamity’

by Sanath Nanayakkare

Eng. Vijitha Herath, the Chairman of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) says that the need for greater collaboration in the insurance sector to bridge the prevailing insurance protection gap in Sri Lanka is being felt stronger than ever before.

“We need to come out with standard products for micro enterprises, small industries and life insurance policy holders so that coverage across the board improves. It will help industries and individuals immensely in the event they suffer losses. If standard products work well, then in the aftermath of natural calamities like floods, cyclones, droughts etc., it will be much easier for the government to handle the situation because the insurance companies will be able to compensate for the losses. In fact, we were the first insurer to pay Tsunami related insurance claims,” Herath says.

“If we can design life insurance products to attract a large portion of earning members of each household to buy life insurance at an affordable premium, that will help ensure a secure future for their families,” he observes.

“We can’t prevent the unexpected from happening and we all know that insurance is meant to safeguard us, at least financially. But today it can be difficult to determine what insurance policy people really need,” he says.

“At the 60th Anniversary of SLIC, we will be revisiting our array of Life and General Insurance solutions for all walks of life. SLIC protects millions of lives and property of Sri Lankans being the largest and the strongest insurer in Sri Lanka. We take care of 0.5 million life insurance policies, 5.7 million General Insurance policies. Our Life Fund is Rs. 134 billion with an asset base of Rs. 235 billion. SLIC’s continuous declaration of bonuses for life insurance policyholders was 8.6 billion in 2021. Our monthly claim settlements is about Rs. 1.5 billion per month,” he notes.

Further speaking he says,”Sri Lanka is yet to achieve an environment fully-conducive for insurance. Taking out an Insurance policy is not on the top of the priority list because Sri Lankans have a high dependency on their relations and friends when it comes to an emergency or calamity, therefore the insurance penetration is low in the country. The insurance penetration was 1.39% to GDP as at 2020. However, post-pandemic we can see a positive growth in the insurance sector with more people getting conscious about their health and protection. The consumer habits are changing and purchasing patterns are also changing. People are moving to digital based solutions as never before.”

“During the height of the pandemic, our utmost priority was the safety of our customers and our staff members including our sales force. We had to adapt our business operations to overcome the challenges at a staggering speed. Pre-Covid-19, insurance used to be a more people oriented business built on relationships between the customer, insurance advisor and the insurance company. But in the pandemic scenario, we had to use alternative ways to reach our customers and provide more access points to customers. We had to make sure that our customers received uninterrupted insurance service. More importantly, we provided grace periods for our customers to settle their premiums, understanding the economic difficulties during the time.”

“SLIC was established in 1962 by late prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and late minister of commerce T.B.Illangaratne. In the 1980’s SLIC shifted to the present head quarters and that was about the time the industry opened up to allow competition.”

“We have 190+ branches and customer service locations across Sri Lanka. SLIC was awarded as the Most Loved Insurance Brand and Most Valuable Insurance Brand by Brand Finance for the 4th consecutive time. We are the only insurer to have been awarded AAA(lka) and AA(lka) for the long term financial stability.”

“As a state institution, SLIC has played a critical role in economic development. The company has been part of many economic and social changes in Sri Lanka. SLIC has been the insurance partner for many national development projects in Sri Lanka. Those include; Southern Express Way, Katunayake Express Way, Hambanthota Port, Mahaweli Development Project, Sooriyawewa Sports Complex, Mattala International Airport, Colombo South Container Terminal and Colombo Port City Development Project. We contribute our profits to the Treasury.”

“We were recognised as the Most loved Insurance Brand and Most Valuable Insurance Brand by Brand Finance for the past 4 years and we have been recognised as a “Great Place to work in Sri Lanka”.

Talking about fierce competition in the field, he says,” We have local as well as international players in the market. They bring different insights on local and global scale. The competition is intense in the market as every player is attempting to capture a sizeable share in the huge untapped potential in the market. Our key to keeping pace with the competition is to identify the current insurance needs of the people. We will be catering to their specific insurance needs by bringing innovative insurance solutions to fit with their specific needs and wants. We continue to embrace technology to stay abreast with the competition.”

“We built a number of technology and digital features to enhance customer experience. They include; SLIC Mobile App for customers, SLIC Customer Portal for customers and Fastrack claim Settlement for Motor Insurance Claims. We also developed an array of digital payment channels for customers to pay insurance premiums. Motor E-Doc system settles an average of 600 million motor claims per month.”

“Our CSR initiatives include; Subapathum National Scholarship Scheme. The programme has rewarded young high-achievers who excelled in the Grade 5 Scholarship, GCE Ordinary Level and GCE Advanced Level examinations every year. We have awarded more than 1,200 students since 2014 granting scholarships worth of more than Rs. 50 million. SLIC’s Pasal Piriyath Surakimu annual CSR initiative helps develop and enhance the physical environment of underprivileged schools across Sri Lanka. We have supported these schools to develop their infrastructure and refurbish their premises and property. Since 2005, SLIC has refurbished more than 3300 such schools.”

“Our Call to Donate campaign aims to raise awareness about cancer among Sri Lankans. The campaign objective is to raise and donate urgently required funds, equipment and infrastructure for Apeksha Cancer Hospital in Maharagama. SLIC has donated a CPAP machine, essential medicine and prosthetic limbs to the Apeksha Cancer Hospital. The most recent donation was Rs. 5 million raised through over 480,000 missed calls, funding that will be used to build an isolation room for the hospital’s Paediatric Ward,”

“SLI’s Ira Handa Pavathina Thuru initiative is a national effort to preserve Sri Lanka’s rich and famous cultural heritage. It provides sponsorships and personal accident covers for major peraharas in Sri Lanka.”

“SLIC’s future plans include expanding the branch network, introducing new insurance solutions to cover all affinity groups in Sri Lanka, expedite the digital integration of services and processes, enhancing the user experience for customers, establishing sustainable business processes and above all, giving back to the community to serve them better,” SLIC chairman notes.