SLIC Chair calls for revolutionised insurance sector

By Charumini de Silva

The insurance industry should reposition itself as a commodity without limiting its options to those of a retail product and reach out for the benefits created through the economic growth of the country.

“We need to revolutionise the insurance sector. If we present insurance as a financial instrument only, the growth of the industry will be limited and stagnant,” Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) Chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya opined at the 7th National Forum for Life Insurance Advisors (NAFLIA).

Noting that the current insurance penetration of 12% was very low, he pointed out that the industry should reach out for the opportunities arising from the anticipated economic growth of the country during the next three years.

Amarasuriya pointed out that it was critical to attract new entrants to the industry in order to capture the growth in the economy. He urged insurance companies to encourage and create awareness about the attractiveness of the sales advisory profession.

“We need to promote sales advisory as an attractive profession for youngsters, especially school leavers between the ages of 18 and 22. Therefore I suggest that we run a campaign with the help of the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL),” he added.

However, he noted that the present entry point training was not adequate and insisted on continuous training and development to prepare sales advisors to handle the challenges in the insurance industry.

In terms of achieving sales targets, Amarasuriya noted that since the industry was dependent on the economy, firms must be aware of this when they set their sales targets. 

Stating that he was against stretched targets, he advised providing reasonable targets that could be achieved by sales advisors. 

“We must always remember when we say targets that there is an economy outside us, which is totally beyond our control. Therefore let the sales advisors stretch the targets or give them reasonable targets which they can achieve within their capacity,” he stressed.