A step towards a day when all Sri Lankans are insured

The first National Forum for Life Insurance Advisors (NAFLIA) was held on a very small scale eight years ago, as a means of providing platform of inspiration and encouragement to Life Insurance advisors from companies all across the island. Today, NAFLIA is the key event on the calendar of every Life Insurance advisor. 

Over a thousand members of the Life Insurance Industry gathered at the BMICH on 17 August for the eighth National Forum for Life Insurance Advisors. The conference is organised by the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL), with the support of the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL), and the sponsorship of the Sri Lanka Insurance Institute and David Pieris Motor Company Ltd. The theme of this year’s conference was, ‘Towards A Day All Sri Lankans Are Insured… Are We Ready?’

Gracing the event as chief guest was Indrani Sugathadasa, the Chairperson of IBSL, along with the guest of honour and keynote speaker, the much renowned Professor Ajantha Dharmasiri, the Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Management. Also among the distinguished invitees were, the Director General of IBSL, Damayanthi Fernando, President of IASL, Deepthi Lokuarachchi, and Cricket Legend Roshan Mahanama.

Hashra Weerawardena, the Chairman of the Marketing and Sales Forum (MSF) warmly welcomed the gathering and expressed his gratitude to those who had been instrumental in the organisation of the event. Deepthi Lokuarachchi followed next with a detailed description of the current situation of the Insurance Industry and its contribution to the country’s economy. Lokuarachchi highlighted the importance of dedication and the duty of the Life Insurance advisor to the task of ensuring that one day all Sri Lankans will enjoy the assurance of insurance. 

The chief guest, Sugathdasa emphasised the need to encourage healthy relationships between advisors and customers as well as the importance of creating a demand for Insurance among the general population. 

Keynote speaker, Professor Dharmasiri, inspired the gathering with his detailed and practical presentation on the importance of adopting and maintaining a positive and purposeful attitude towards life and work. Titled ‘Excellence as Essence: A Behavioral Perspective’, the presentation stressed upon the value of simplicity, change and adaptation. 

The three panel discussion of the day were all in relation to the event’s main theme – ‘Towards A Day All Sri Lankans Are Insured… Are We Ready?’ The first panel discussed the challenges and possibilities related with the theme. Moderated by Sugathadasa, the panel consisted of R. Renganathan, the MD/CEO of Ceylinco Life Insurance, Hemaka Amarasuriya, the CEO of Sri Lanka Insurance, Deepthi Lokuarachchi, the MD/CEO of HNB Assurance, Aravinda Perera, the former MD of Sampath Bank PLC and current MD of Royal Ceramics PLC, Saliya Rajakaruna, the former CEO of Nations Trust Bank (NTB) and Stuart Chapman, the CEO of Janashakthi Insurance.

The second panel explored the inside perspective of the theme. Veteran insurer Rukman Weeraratne, the General Manager (Life Sales) at Janashakthi Insurance PLC moderated the panel, which was made up of the industry’s service leaders. Samitha Hemachandra, the Senior Deputy General Manager of Marketing at Ceylinco Life Insurance took on the role of moderator of the third panel, which and was composed of top achievers/MDRT winners who discussed the breaking of barriers when it came to the task of ensuring that one day all Sri Lankans will be insured.

In his motivational speech, the Tower of Patience, Roshan Mahanama shared a number of his own experiences on and off the cricket pitch. “Talent alone is not enough to achieve your dream, it takes dedication and sacrifice as well,” stated Mahanama. The former national cricketer also stressed upon the importance of not being discouraged by failure, which is “not the end of the journey”.

The day’s events came to a conclusion with the vote of thanks, delivered by Kasun Sameera, the Project Chairman of NAFLIA 2017, and a raffle draw with fun and exciting prizes. 

By means of events such as NAFLIA the IASL means to provide members of the insurance industry with the necessary knowledge and inspiration to ensure that they all gather together to work ‘Towards A Day All Sri Lankans Are Insured’.