Unprecedented bonanza from Ceylinco Life 

Ceylinco Life which ended 2008 with a premium income of Rs 8.25 billion and it’s Life Fund which exceeded Rs. 23 billion as of the end of the second quarter of 2009 recently announced the return of Ceylinco Life Family Savari. Policyholders of Ceylinco Life will be eligible to win an unprecedented bonanza next year, thanks to the life insurance leader’s third ‘Family Savari’. This time around the prizes on offer are just too good to be true; a super-luxury ocean cruise in Singapore, 200 package tours to Singapore and a full day’s outing at Leisure World for 2000 families! Here Ceylinco Life Deputy Chief Executive Director Thushara Ranasinghe spoke to The Sunday Leader in an exclusive interview explaining the concept and excitement behind this grand competition.  

Q: Who is eligible for Ceylinco Life Family Savari?

A: The Ceylinco Life Family Savari covers all existing policyholders as well as new policyholders who purchase life insurance between October 1 and December 31, 2009. The Ceylinco Life Family Savari has grown into a much-anticipated event among our policyholders. Each year we strive to enhance the event to provide an extraordinary experience to them.

Q: What prizes are up for grabs?

A: This time around, four people from one lucky family will win an exciting super-luxury ocean cruise in Singapore as the grand prize while 200 people from 50 families will win package tours to the same destination. Another 2,000 people from 500 families will win a full day’s outing at Leisure World Theme Park in Avissawella.

Q: What’s the strategy behind Ceylinco Life Family Savari?

A: The promotion is intended to generate greater awareness of and interest in life insurance in market segments as yet unprotected through insurance, reward existing policyholders for keeping their policies active and provide an incentive to others to revive and maintain their policies.

Q: How does one enter this competition?

A: To enter the draw for the Ceylinco Life Family Savari, policyholders should submit an application along with a family photograph to Ceylinco Life branches. Each Life policyholder who does so will have three winning chances.

Q: Explain the mechanics of this competition

A: Ceylinco Retirement Account (CRA) holders will also be entitled to the draw and will have up to 10 winning chances. For example, a minimum account balance of Rs 25,000 as at 31st December 2009 will have two winning chances while a policyholder who has Rs 100,000 in his or her CRA account as at 31st December 2009 will have eight winning chances. A policyholder who has Rs 500,000 in his or her CRA account as at 31st December 2009 will have ten winning chances. Investment-linked life policyholders can also vie for winning chances.

For example, an investment-linked life plan for Rs 100,000 will have one winning chance while a Rs 500,000 investment-linked life plan will have five winning chances. Ten winning chances will be accorded to an investment-linked life plan of Rs. 2 million.

Q: Tell us about the competition in previous years

A: In two previous Ceylinco Life Family Savari events, Ceylinco Life provided sensational super-luxury ocean cruises for 20 people, all-expenses paid holidays in Singapore for 200 people and a day’s outing at Leisure World for 4,000 people.

Q: anything special about this year’s competition?

A: Up to seven winners from each Ceylinco Life branch will win family trips to Leisure World, ensuring that all districts of the country would be represented. A winning family may include the policyholder, spouse and two children.

An unmarried policyholder may nominate his or her parents. We also offers policy holders multiple benefits such as ‘Pranama’ scholarships for policy holders’ children, ‘65-plus’ free medical cover, ‘Aloka’ educational grants for children of deceased policy holders in the low income segment and discounted rates for medical check-ups.

A revolutionary motor insurance policy 

Union Assurance PLC, which has been in the forefront of providing innovative insurance solutions to the industry, launched a revolutionary new product under the name ‘Union Motor Reload’ to the market recently. This product has added a new dimension to the local motor insurance industry.

Motor insurance is a heavy burden on most vehicle owners, as insurance has to be purchased for the full year, and the annual premium has to be paid as a lump sum. With their latest product, Union Assurance has taken this burden away. Union Motor Reload allows vehicle owners the option of purchasing their motor insurance for one month, three months or six months from any Keells Super outlet. Union Motor Reload is a revolutionary solution for the vehicle owner to obtain reliable vehicle insurance and yet manage to balance his month’s budget and cash flows.

 “Until now all motor insurance policies were annual insurance policies; this is the first time that a motor insurance policy can be bought for a short duration such as one month.  The option of monthly/ three monthly / six monthly, motor insurance is designed to suit the income pattern and cater to the  payment capacity of the vehicle owner,” said Chief Executive Officer of Union Assurance, Marina Tharmaratnam.

If you are a first time Union Motor Reload customer, all you have to do is drive into any Keells Super outlet and submit your national identity card, vehicle identification certificate or vehicle registration book, together with the renewal notice of the previous insurance if applicable, and obtain a Union Motor Reload policy for a period of your choice.  

Thereafter, to renew the policy, simply provide your vehicle number to the any Keells Super staff member, and they will take care of the rest.

Any Union Motor Reload policyholder is entitled to all the benefits available from an annual policy such as no claim bonuses after 12 months, access to the 24 hour call centre etc. In the event of an accident, Motor Reload customers can utilise any of UA’s claims settlement options including on the scene assessment and approval of damages and the drive-in-drive-out claims settlement option.

Tharmaratnam added, “Union Assurance and Keells Super have combined to make purchasing motor insurance as simple as shopping for your grocery items. As Keells Super outlets are open for very long hours every day of the week irrespective of holidays, reloading a motor insurance policy will be very easy especially for those individuals who lead busy lifestyles. We believe that Union Motor Reload is a simple product that caters to the cash flow management and convenience needs of vehicle owners.”

Deepal to talk at TMC Kalutara 

Managing Director, Eagle Insurance Corporation PLC, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi has been invited by The Management Club - Kalutara to make a Presentation on the topic “Can We Think Anew?” to members and guests of TMC Kalutara on October 14 at 6.30 p.m at Hibiscus Beach Hotel Kalutara. 

This renowned CEO is a Chartered Marketer, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK and MBA - University of Sri Jayawardenapura. He is also an Alumnus of the National University of Singapore, Asian Institute of Management and Stanford Business School, USA.

Incidentally this is the first evening presentation organized by the newly established Management Club in Kalutara based at the Hibiscus Beach Hotel and would be part of the management development presentations organized by The Management Club and held at its various clubs under the “Way Forward ……” series.  Professional managers who have joined the Club as well as their guests and managers from corporate establishments in and around Kalutara are welcome to attend and benefit from this program by registering with Errol Smith on 0773 785780 or Dharshana Kumbukage on 072 362 8502.

Allianz ‘leading insurer’ again 

Allianz is once again ranked as a leading insurer in this year’s Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) Rating, with a total score of 79%. This is an increase of 3% points over last year’s rating and 2% points behind Re-insurer Swiss Re as the insurance sector leader, Allianz has improved its score while the average sector performance has fallen from 50 to 49 %.

Allianz has achieved special recognition as a leader in the following areas: - “access to insurance / products with social value added” (e.g., micro-insurance), “stakeholder engagement” (e.g., alignment of CSR with business strategy) and “business risks and opportunities” (e.g., goal of integrating sustainability principles in whole range of services).

 Despite significantly higher scores in some areas, such as efforts in the Environmental Footprint and Standards for Suppliers, Allianz still sees ample opportunity for improvement.

Together with all relevant units, the Allianz Sustainable Development team will analyze the overall results, with specific focus on all critical performance areas, and develop an effective and efficient action plan to reclaim leadership in the DJSI Rating again.

Allianz Lanka

Allianz is represented in Sri Lanka by its fully owned subsidiary Allianz Lanka. The local company commenced General insurance business in 2005 and Life insurance business in 2008, and has consistently made underwriting profits since inception, despite having no captive business.

Allianz Lanka benchmarks the standards set by its parent company and accesses the financial service conglomerate’s substantial resources to provide its local its Sri Lankan clientele with a range of innovative Life and General insurance products.

Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Launched in 1999, the DJSI was the first global index to track the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. Assessment is carried out by the Swiss-based Sustainable Asset Management Group (SAM). Allianz has been included in DJSI since 2000 and has been the leading direct insurer since 2006.

Ceylinco Life settles 12,000 claims in 9 months

Ceylinco Life has settled nearly 12,000 claims in the first nine months of 2009, Sri Lanka’s life insurance market leader disclosed last week.

The company said it had paid out nearly Rs 303.5 million in respect of 11,903 policies between January and September this year, of which nearly 77 per cent or Rs 233.5 million were death claims.

“Our record of speedy and hassle-free settlement, which is one of the benchmarks of a well-run insurance business, continues to be a key strength,” Ceylinco Life Deputy Chief Executive Director Thushara Ranasinghe said. In addition, the total amount paid as customer benefits exceeds Rs 2 billion as at September 30, 2009.

The largest number of claims (10,311) represented Hospital Cash benefits. Other claims settled were in respect of major surgery policies, critical illness (Ceylinco Family Digasiri), and partial or permanent disability, Ranasinghe said.

The company had also maintained its high solvency margin, one of the primary yardsticks of financial stability. At the end of 2008, Ceylinco Life’s solvency margin was five times that required by statute. The company’s Life Fund stood at Rs 23 billion as at June 30, 2009.

Ceylinco Life which has more than 750,000 lives covered by active policies, ended 2008 with premium income of Rs 8.2 billion. According to the latest annual report of the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) the company’s share of the local life insurance market is nearly 35 per cent.

Ceylinco Insurance Maldives announces 70 % interim dividend

The Maldives subsidiary of Ceylinco Insurance PLC recently announced an interim dividend of 70 % for its shareholders for the year 2009, seen as a tremendous achievement at a time of global recession. Commenting on the results, Deputy Chairman, Ceylinco Insurance Co (Pvt) Ltd., Ajith Gunawardena said that he was extremely pleased with the success. “Against a backdrop of worldwide recession that has seen companies struggle for survival, the outstanding results announced by Maldives Ceylinco Insurance Co. reflects the company’s significant performance and commitment to customer satisfaction,” he said. 

Gunawardena further stated, “The majority shares of the Maldives subsidiary is owned by Ceylinco Insurance PLC; since inception, the company has been performing well with exceptional achievements on record.  The company commenced operations when Ceylinco Insurance Co (Pvt) Ltd was granted registration by the Maldivian Trade Ministry to operate as an established  company in the Republic of Maldives. With its Addu (Hitadaoo) branch, it became the first insurer in the Maldives to open a branch office. Today, it maintains one of the best run insurance companies in the islands.”  

Ceylinco Insurance Co (Pvt) Ltd. underwrites all classes of General Insurance products with special emphasis on hull and resort insurance. The company paid a record number of claims within the shortest possible period  when the Maldives experienced the deadly tsunami.   

Extending its congratulations and goodwill towards the Maldives subsidiary, Ceylinco Insurance PLC has noted in a statement that the exceptional performance of the company was due to dedicated customer focus and service. Director Operations of the company, Sathyajith Wijeyapura has said  that the company is indeed proud of the Maldives Ceylinco Insurance team for their level of commitment towards achieving such outstanding results.

“We take this opportunity to thank our customers who made this possible, our staff, the regulatory authorities in Sri Lanka and in the Republic of Maldives and everyone else who made this achievement possible,” added Wijeyapura 

Ceylinco Insurance PLC has been able to sustain a high level of achievement here at home in Sri Lanka as well, even during the  economic downturn. “We see this achievement as a crowning moment for the entire insurance industry in Sri Lanka for it is as a Sri Lankan company that we were able to record such results,” Gunawardena said.

Eagle agents to receive certification 

In a unique private public partnership, Eagle Insurance entered into an MOU with Wayamba University, the only university to offer a Bsc. Special Degree programme in Insurance, to provide a certificate level qualification in Personal Financial Management exclusively to the insurance advisors of Eagle. This certificate will be issued by the Department of Insurance and Valuation.

“Most of our clients buy their insurance plans based on the advice given by our agents as is the case in many other international markets. According to global research over 80% of the customers prefer to make insurance related decisions based on face to face advice. As part of the Aviva Group, the world’s fifth-largest insurer, it is our responsibility to provide services that are comparable to other Aviva companies across the globe. This is a benefit that is transferred to our valued clients,” said Managing Director, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi. It is in this context that Eagle has taken steps to further enhance the capability of its insurance professionals in the area of personal financial management through a certificate course conducted by Wayamba University.

This will be in addition to the preliminary IBSL examination, induction and other training programmes conducted by the company and the product level licensing done at company level. This product level licensing is an international best practice voluntarily adopted by Eagle. For example unit linked products are sold only by specially internally licensed advisors of Eagle.

Commenting further Sooriyaarachchi added, “We are very fortunate to have been able to build this relationship with Wayamba University. We are planning to complete the first batch in the month of January next year and thereafter we will systematically cover the entire sales force. This will bring a new dimension to insurance selling in Sri Lanka. With this partnership we will be able to draw in the expertise of the local academics and reciprocate to them by providing access to global expertise in the field of insurance in particular and management in general.”

Janashakthi’s ‘Full Option Auto Centre’ repairs 5000th vehicle 

Janashakthi’s Full Option Auto Centre completed four successful years last month with 5000 vehicles repaired and brought back to mint condition, and, several thousand more happy vehicle owners.

Situated at No. 62, W.A.D Ramanayake Mawatha in Colombo 2, the ‘Full Option Auto Centre’ launched operations in September 2005 and holds the record of being the first and only repair centre in Sri Lanka fully-owned and run by an insurance company.

The Full Option Auto Centre offers vehicle owners the complete benefits of a state-of-the-art collision and structural repair service. Specifically designed to undertake body work and structural damage repairs, the Centre is run by an expert team of hand-picked, highly qualified and experienced staff.

Among the services offered by the Full Option Auto Centre are professional advice on repairs, highest quality materials, parts and workmanship. The advanced features include computer-based diagnostic machinery for fault finding, reset air bags and fuel injection ‘Celett Bench’ which is recommended by most manufacturers.

A special feature of the Full Option Auto Centre is its technologically advanced paint booth suitable for all weather conditions which helps bring a vehicle back to original mint condition.

DGM, Full Option Auto Centre, Marlon Peter said that the cardinal idea behind the setting up of a repair centre of this nature was to add greater value to the service Janashakthi offers its thousands of Full Option customers. “The Full Option Auto Centre is equipped with some of the latest machines and technology with all repairs done to manufacturers’ specifications. This not only reduces worry and stress levels, but also assures vehicle owners of an excellent and perfect ‘rehabilitation’ of their vehicle,” he said.

“The fact that many of our customers from the outstations continue to bring their vehicles to our Full Option Auto Centre in Colombo for accident-related repairs is in itself, an endorsement of the quality of the services offered,” he added.

Co-operative Insurance retains its CPA Rating 

Co-operative Insurance Company last week announced that RAM Ratings Lanka has once again affirmed its ‘BB’ claims-paying ability (CPA) rating and confirmed its outlook as ‘stable.’ The reaffirmation of the rating comes in the wake of a spate of high profile failures in the financial sector. Although the rating highlights potential areas of improvement, Co-operative Insurance Company has once again demonstrated its commitment to transparency and good governance by disclosing its CPA rating.

Co-operative Insurance Company obtained its CPA rating on a voluntary basis and is only one of five insurers in Sri Lanka to disclose its rating to the public. The rating, which comes on the heels of a slew of international awards including the Gold Award for Excellence and Business Prestige at the Business Initiative Direction (BID) Quality Summit 2008 held in New York in May 2008, and the Platinum Award for Excellent Leadership at the BID Quality Summit 2009 held at Paris in March 2009, is an unbiased measure of an insurer’s risk profile.

The CPA rating takes into account a diverse and comprehensive range of quantitative and qualitative factors in order to present a clear picture of an insurer’s financial strength and its ability to meet its obligations to policyholders. Key factors include areas such as regulatory environment; industry characteristics and trends; investment portfolio; capital strength; underwriting quality and risk exposure; profitability; competitive position; ownership quality; and overall management. The company’s CPA rating is a third party opinion of the company’s risk exposure and its ability to meet policyholders’ claims.

Co-operative Insurance Company was founded on the insight that leveraging the existing financial resources and island-wide network of co-operative societies was a fiscally prudent way of pooling policyholders’ risks. As a result of this innovative approach to insurance, the company has experienced massive growth in its co-operative, commercial, and individual businesses, all while continuing to uphold its founding principles.

The company’s overall premiums grew 67.52% to more than Rs. 653 million in the 2008 financial year and witnessed a remarkable growth in its motor insurance premiums of 97.96%. In this context, even though Co-operative Insurance’s experienced an escalation of claims, the company’s sensible claims management process enabled it to remain within industry parameters. Indeed, the company’s life insurance fund was cited by RAM Ratings Lanka for its “benign claims ratio and lapse rates.”

Refunds over ‘unfair’ insurance 

Mortgage lenders and insurers in the UK have agreed to refund £60m to customers whose premiums for mortgage payment protection insurance went up this year. The refunds have been ordered by the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA). The regulator is worried that premiums have been raised, and the level of cover limited, unfairly.

The payment protection insurance is supposed to pay people’s mortgage repayments if they fall ill or are made redundant.

The industry had been accused of jacking up premiums, just when people were beginning to claim on their policies due to rising levels of unemployment. Mortgage lenders and insurers have agreed to refund £60m to customers whose premiums for mortgage payment protection insurance went up this year.