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Ceylinco Life, the Life Division of Ceylinco Insurance PLC, has posted income of Rs. 17.573 billion for the year ending 31 December 2013, with healthy growth in premiums as well as investment and other income enabling the company to maintain its position as the largest life insurer in Sri Lanka for the 10th successive year.
Gross Written Premium Income for the 12 months totalled Rs. 11.123 billion, while investment and other income grew by a noteworthy 39% to Rs. 6.706 billion, Ceylinco Life Managing Director/CEO R. Renganathan reported in the company’s Annual Report for 2013.
A net transfer of Rs. 7.655 billion to the Life Fund, an increase of Rs. 889 million over the previous year’s transfer, saw Ceylinco Life’s Life Fund reach Rs. 52.765 billion at the end of the year, a growth of 16.97%.
Total Assets of the Life Division increased by a noteworthy Rs. 11.054 billion or 20.9% to Rs. 63.95 billion at 31 December 2013.
Ceylinco Life’s Solvency Margin, a computation of the excess of assets over statutory liabilities, stood at 12.85 times the legal requirement as at 31 December 2013, in an emphatic indicator of its ability to meet the obligations arising from its insurance contracts. The prevailing insurance regulations require insurance companies to maintain a solvency margin of not less than 5% of their statutory liabilities at all times.
Commenting on the growth of Investment and Other Income to Rs. 6.706 billion in 2013, Renganathan in his review of the division’s 2013 performance said: “This, I believe, is another important performance indicator worthy of special mention, given that it is roughly the equivalent of the premium income recorded by the third largest life insurer in the market.
“The role that investment income plays in building the financial strength and stability of an insurance company is significant,” he noted. “It gives me great pleasure therefore to report that the investment portfolio of the Life Division grew by Rs. 6.55 billion or 14.83% to Rs. 50.752 billion in 2013.”
Pointing out that prudent management of funds is one of the key indicators of performance, Renganathan disclosed that at the end of the year under review, Ceylinco Life’s investment portfolio comprised of Government Securities (40%); Licensed Private Banks (11%); State Banks (21%); Real Estate (10%); Corporate Debt (15%) and Others (3%). These investments are made in conformity with the investment guidelines stipulated under the Regulation of the Insurance Industry Act No. 43 of 2000 and are subject to regular monitoring by the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL).
Ceylinco Life policyholders received benefits totalling Rs. 4.863 billion in 2013, an increase of Rs. 771 million over the previous year. These benefits included maturity and other survival benefits, claims, and annual bonuses.
Independently rated one of Sri Lanka’s most valuable brands, Ceylinco Life has maintained its leadership of the country’s long term insurance sector from 2004 onwards. The company operates the largest branch network among local life insurance companies, and has won multiple international and local awards for its commitment to the community and success in brand equity building.
