SLI to boost Life insurance industry

by Surekha Galagoda

The life Insurance industry is growing at 25% per annum but there is much potential for growth and Sri Lanka Insurance wanted to contribute to this growth in a positive manner.

CEO SLI Nalaka Godahewa said that advertising related to Life insurance at present, projects a negative feeling which makes customers move away from insurance. However, we at SLI wanted to convey a positive image about Life and be proud of it together with its values.

When a person stands up for life he is futuristic. To make the future bright and prosperous the person has to make wise investment decisions based on rationale and never on emotions.

But unfortunately our financial literacy is low and people tend to make the wrong decisions. Therefore the greatest gift we can give our children is financial literacy, he said. Godahewa said that by tradition we are a saving nation but as our financial literacy is low people don't take wise decisions when it comes to investment. Sri Lanka life introduced by SLI is not a product, it is a concept of Life insurance.

We are trying to provoke the need for Life insurance and customise it based on the requirements of the customer, he said.

Insurance is a wise investment if it is done wisely as it gives protection and returns. He said that SLI is secure as a bank with the largest asset base of Rs 50 billion and the only insurance company in Sri Lanka to be rated AA minus by Fitch Ratings UK an International ratings agency.

Every insurance company in the country maintains a Life fund and 90% of its funds belong to the policy holders while the balance belongs to the shareholders.

The Life fund of SLI is Rs 32 billion and it is three times bigger than our closest competitor, therefore there is a higher possibility for us to give three times more as returns to our policyholders. SLI for the last 40 years has been paying a bonus and we will continue to do so in the future too and the bonus is increasing yearly. The SLI only offers profitable policies while some companies offer profitless policies which only offer the sum assured.

Despite all the problems in the North and East SLI is doing quite well. The rural market too is important for us and we are taking every effort to promote it through our 100 branches around the country. SLI is constantly expanding the sales force and the branch network.

In a bid to get the agent to service the policy for about 5-6 years SLI is reviewing the commission structure. Earlier though the agent sold the policy some never serviced it which led to several policies lapsing and therefore we thought of introducing this method and sending a reminder as well.

Speaking of future developments, Godahewa said, that we have to think beyond the traditional channels and be innovative as in the developed world where they have several channels to make our products more convenient and accessible to customers. Unfortunately at present there are regulation restrictions but we are having a dialogue with the authorities and are confident that we can overcome the restrictions in the future.

Speaking of product development, he said, that it is a continuous process and product modifications are introduced every month accommodating the demands in the market.