Allianz Lanka expands to East, opens first branch in Trincomalee

Monday, 4 October 2010 23:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

ALLIANZ Lanka consolidated plans for reaching into the East with the opening of its first Eastern branch office in the heart of Trincomalee town.

The new branch is located at 447/2, Dockyard Road, Trincomalee, and functions under the aegis of Branch Manager Jacob Predeepen.

It is serviced by an experienced team of sales, front office and underwriting professionals trained to internationally benchmarked Allianz standards of customer service and underwriting.

This branch opening is the fully owned subsidiary of Munich based conglomerate Allianz’s eighth venture into the provinces of Sri Lanka, and the second of its branches in the North East. The company opened a branch in the North, in Jaffna, last December Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony was AGA of Trincomalee, Arumugam Nadaraja. In his address to the gathering, Nadaraja stated that they were very pleased to have multinational companies of the stature of Allianz in the Eastern Province, confirming that insurance has become a basic necessity for the people of the East today, as it will give them the much needed protection against life’s unexpected situations, for which many are unprepared. CEO of Allianz Lanka, Surekha Alles who was the Guest of Honour, declared in her welcome address that the opening of a branch in the East had been a challenge to the company as it had not been on the Allianz road map at the time of commencing business in Sri Lanka (five years ago, in 2005). She said that in the aftermath of the war that had hitherto prevented foreign and local investment, the government’s plans for developing the infrastructure of the North and East have encouraged large numbers of people to return to this area. She expressed Allianz’s commitment to partnering State initiatives in rebuilding the region and re-establishing its people. She affirmed, “We are here to provide you with the best insurance solutions from a world class leader in insurance and financial services. Allianz can provide you with the financial stability that no other insurer in this country can provide. We are uniquely equipped to differentiate ourselves from the rest. We are an organisation which cares and understands the uniqueness of each individual and every culture. This is why we are in more than 70 countries and service over 80 million different ethnicities of customers worldwide today.”

The Allianz Lanka CEO made the point that Allianz goes far beyond its primary function as an insurer, to involve itself in developing the community it serves. “We are here to provide you with total financial freedom as well as employment. All our staff and field sales force are from this region and we will continue to create more employment opportunities. We also have plans to commence micro insurance, to help the SME’s and low income families. We are confident that once these sectors start thriving, ancillary sectors will automatically follow suit.”