Insurance will remain one of the top industries in the world: IASL Secy.

Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL) Secretary Chandana L. Aluthgama shares his views on the important role insurance agents play and how the industry should develop career opportunities in one of the biggest global industries:

IASL Secretary  Chandana L. Aluthgama

Q: As a member of the largest composite insurance provider in the country, how do you see the current insurance landscape in Sri Lanka?

 The insurance industry is just recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and all the insurance companies are handling it very well. If you look back to March, it was a real shock for most companies because even though contingency planning was in place, this was something no one expected to happen. It was a very tough challenge to handle.  But with insurance being declared an essential service, the industry faced the situation very well to serve customers to ensure their insurance needs are being met. 

Q: How have the employees of the industry been affected with the latest pandemic situation?

 In general, many companies adopted different methodologies in terms of deploying their staff into the working areas. For example, at SLIC, we had a very limited, skeleton staff working at office premises while other staff members were facilitated to work from home. No sooner we reached normalcy, we had all the staff returning to work on a roster basis. Subsequently in June, we were able to return to our regular operations with all our staff members. 

The companies had to continue fuelling the staff, even in terms of allowances, because people also had a tough time individually. We brought in the concept of smart spend, where we cut down the areas that we felt we could live without. But when it comes to staff or even the agents, the companies have spent a lot of resources in keeping them motivated.

 Q: In your perspective, what are the challenges Insurance companies face when it comes to recruitment and retention?

The general perception is that it is perhaps easier or lucrative to join another industry rather than insurance even though insurance is one of the most important commodities that we sell today. The reason behind this perception is that we have not penetrated enough to give out the correct message. The number one factor is that the society at large believe that it is probably better to join another Industry and not necessarily an insurance company. But if you really observe the facts, insurance is a very responsible industry, which provides a crucial service to the society. The value of the service will be identified and known only by someone who has really gone through that care and experience. Therefore, insurance should be on the top of the list when making career decisions.

Comparing the time when we joined the insurance industry and today, I see many multi-disciplined sectors aiming at the industry, and many multi-talented people looking at it for career opportunities. This might be a turning point because in time to come insurance will play a vital role. Insurance is among the emerging businesses in the world. While some businesses will disappear in time to come, it is predicted that insurance will be within the top 10.

Q: The insurance month is all about creating awareness about the importance of being protected against adverse situations. Does this also have an effect on how people look at insurance agents? 

 There should be a proper selection and recruitment process in the case of insurance agents, because selling insurance is not easy. It is highly technical as the agent needs to be very knowledgeable. If you look at some of the success stories among the seniors in the industry, their knowledge and experience is immense. But when you go on a regular recruitment drive, without considering all the technical facts, you may end up having teams that are just trying to sell a product. Reasons for selling insurance and buying insurance are never discussed at all. 

There should be proper recruitment, selection, and most importantly, constant training, because insurance is a dynamic subject with a vast context. There are many things that I learn from other markets. It’s a constantly evolving subject. If you consider the laws and practice of insurance, today some of them are being challenged, and there might be new ones evolving in time to come. Therefore, training is fundamental. It should not be limited to the subject matter, but soft skills should be part of it as well.

Q: How can the IASL and the industry as a whole help to develop the insurance agents?

 The industry is helping the Insurance Institute of Sri Lanka to develop all the agents as licensed and qualified agents. As a result, if someone simply wants to sell an insurance product, it’s not permissible. Once they become licensed agents, the insurance companies have a daunting task to constantly keep them involved. 

The IASL is also currently engaged in various discussions to see how we can develop and uplift the employee category. For example, there are sub committees that are represented by Life and General Insurance, IT, HR, Marketing sections. The common discussion points will identify issues and solutions, which will also reflect back in uplifting the industry.

We also have other initiatives for agents, such as competitions, that give them the opportunity to be recognised as top class insurance agents of the country. It takes a whole series of things to make the insurance agents as well as the insurance staff take pride in what they do.  We should all be proud and positive about the opportunities that we are going to have, which some of the developed markets might not have. Challenges are there for us to meet them, and if we do so properly, we can capitalise on them.