Asian Alliance Insurance employees emerge with flying colours at SLII 2013 exams

Friday, 28 June 2013 04:17 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Asian Alliance Insurance PLC took centre-stage at the Sri Lanka Insurance Institute 2013 award ceremony held recently for students who successfully passed the Insurance Foundation Certificate course (IFC) and the Diploma (Dip), held in 2012 and 2013. Asian Alliance employees formed the largest contingent of successful awardees while also securing the top batch awards in their respective batches. The Sri Lanka Insurance Institute (SLII) is the leading provider of education, training and professional studies dedicated to the insurance industry of Sri Lanka. Since 2006, Asian Alliance has made a focused effort to encourage and foster further upgrading of technical skills amongst its staff, offering a slew of incentives to motivate its staff members to enter the insurance profession as a worthwhile and sustainable career.

The company believes that it is a national duty to mould and encourage young people who are at the cross roads of deciding which career path to choose, to take up insurance and actuarial studies as a profession. As banking, accountancy and marketing are popular areas for professional qualifications, the insurance industry has a serious dearth of qualified chartered insurers to take on the development and growth in this vital financial service, particularly important to Sri Lanka in the backdrop of the country’s accelerated economic expansion, the aging population and the need to develop user-friendly insurance products for protection and healthcare. It is hoped that insurance education will be facilitated to reach young talented aspirants from all parts of the Island to follow such courses as done with similar professions. The oncoming changes in the insurance regulations to split companies into individual life and general insurance companies will double the requirement and expand the capacity to absorb more insurance professionals to lead these companies in their day to day business activities. The industry has a pressing need to face this challenge and take steps to remedy this shortage of qualified insurance professionals. Asian Alliance has recognised this need and has for the longest time adopted a scheme of weeding out staff members with good scholastic records from amongst their cadre and fast tracking their career progression by providing assistance to complete their professional insurance qualifications from the basic certificate course to the chartered and fellowship status. This perquisite that the company offers scored very high in rating at a recently concluded independent employee satisfaction survey carried out by the company. “We intend to continue offering our staff the opportunity to enhance their knowledge through these courses so that they enhance their career prospects and marketability to raise the bar in the industry,” a company spokesperson declared. “This is our contribution towards the development of the industry,” the spokesperson added. Asian Alliance Insurance swept the board by achieving the highest ever awards at the SLII auditorium, a direct result of the company’s visionary policy to foster professionalism and the continuous pursuit of excellence. This further underlines the company’s credo of “professionalism”. Asian Alliance Insurance Director/CEO Ramal Jasinghe commenting on the achievement said: “It is with much pride and pleasure that I stood tall at the SLII awards ceremony, where staff members of the Asian Alliance family swept the board with the largest number of passes, which in itself set a record, along with the best prize winners at the exams conducted by the SLII. Congratulations to the winning Asian Alliance team who performed well at these examinations. Asian Alliance fosters the education and professional excellence of its staff by way of encouraging all members to take the advantage of the facilities provided to progress right up to the point of getting the chartered insurer status. As the industry prepares for the splitting of the insurance arms, Asian Alliance will be poised to take the lead with its excellent team of qualified insurance professionals.” Shakthi Lanka from Life Sales, Colombo emerged as the batch top in the Insurance Foundation Certificate 2012 Batch two, while Sandrakanthan Nivedhan from the Life Division, Sivaraj Vinesh from the Non-Life Division and Shyamalie Chathuranganie from the Life Division claimed the 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions in the Diploma in Insurance Practice 2012. In addition, Kelum Gunawardena (Life Division), Shanaka Perera (Life Division), Lasitha Wimalasooriya (Sales Support Unit - Life Sales), Ramith Liyanage (Sales Support Unit - Life Sales), Suminda Aberathna (Non-Life Sales Negombo), Vindhya Thalangama Arachchi (Non-Life Sales Horana), Sonali Dharmarathne (Non-Life Claims), Tharindu Jayasundara (HR) and Lochana Kularathne (Administration) were among the students who successfully completed the Insurance Foundation Certificate in 2012. The AAI staff members who completed the Insurance Foundation Certificate in 2013 included Taniya Dushmanthi (Life Division), Hansani Fernando (Life Division), Jude Nanayakkara (Life Division), Niroshi Perera (Life Division), Piumi Malsha (Life Division), Chanka Lakmal (Policy Conservation Unit - Life), Dulani Jayakody (Life Sales - Piliyandala), Muditha Undugoda (Life Sales - Battaramulla), Pradeepa Harshani (Life Sales - Kaduwela), Kalpani Manawadu (Life Sales - Nugegoda), Tharindu Weerasekera (Life Sales - Kurunegala), Varnika Soysa (Healthcare Unit – Non-Life), Prabodha Abeysinghe (Motor Claims – Non-Life) and Samal Wijegunawardena (Motor – Non-Life). Subhani Fernando (Life Sales - Negombo), Sivaraj Vinesh (Non-Life Division), Sandrakanthan Nivedhan (Life Division), Shyamalie Chathuranganie (Life Division), Nishantha Kuruwitage (Non-Life Claims), Rishma Athukorala (Fire Insurance Dept. – Non-Life) and Jeevani Perera (Life Division) was awarded for completing the Diploma in Insurance Practice.