Union Assurance geared to face upcoming opportunities in insurance industry
Tuesday, 1 October 2013 00:40
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Union Assurance (UA) is the third largest insurance player in Sri Lanka and is geared to face future opportunities poised to the industry while maintaining innovative, customised solutions and services to its Life and General insurance customers.
UA will see challenges as opportunities through the collective efforts of over 5,000 employees and field staff who embrace the lives of more than half a million Sri Lankan families island wide. The total workforce is expected to increase up to 7,000 staff, creating more job opportunities by the end of 2014.
“The company has emerged as the third largest player in the overall insurance industry – Life and General insurance businesses combined, and we have no doubt that UA is well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities that are available to grow both life and general insurance businesses in the years to come. We have innovative products that are created to deliver an unparalleled level of trust and it is one of the most important factors in our business because at the end of the day, insurance is a long-term agreement and consumers look for an insurance partner they can trust. We work and live within the corporate brand platform of ‘trust,’ which is a value that has been built over two decades of doing business in the industry,” said Rukman Weeraratne, General Manager Marketing.
Union Assurance has a wide distribution network of over 110 branches all over the island catering to Sri Lankans of all walks of life. UA innovated the concept of Business Development Offices (BDO), shifting away from the high operating cost model of traditional branches and allowing UA staff to penetrate into the most rural markets to offer protection to customers in that area while also providing employment opportunities to youth.
Union Assurance recently introduced the Digital Advisor Toolkit (DAT), a tri-lingual application compatible for both laptops and tablet phones. It was developed to assist the field force of UA to propose different insurance solutions and covers to their valued customers. At UA, technology has been the catalyst to provide richer customer experience, while increasing productivity and efficiencies while enabling the company to have a footprint in geographies usually untapped.
UA consistently benchmarks itself among the best, to be on par with modern digital initiatives to improve the efficiency of the organisation as a whole. UA has also been recognised for these implemented technologies, and awarded the Best Insurer Technology award at the Asia Technology Awards conducted by the Asia Insurance Review in 2012.
UA sustained its growth momentum in both turnover and profits during the first half of 2013, reporting a growth rate of 10% in combined gross written premium and 21% growth in profit after tax compared to the same period of the previous year.
UA invests in people development by way of thorough learning and development as well as overseas tours to strengthen professional competencies and to create world class insurance professionals who are able to cater to an ever evolving clientele.
Earlier this year, a 69 contingent of UA staff was able to participate in the MDRT Experience Conference in Hyderabad, India which was a source for discovering new ideas for sales excellence, product improvement and best practices in the field. 12 top Life insurance advisors in the pinnacle of their profession also qualified to be part of the MDRT Conference held this June in Pennsylvania, USA.
Twenty-six recipients of UA were also recognised for their combined industry insight and unwavering commitment at the LIMRA awards 2013 where International Awards for Productivity (IAP) were presented. Participating in these tours and experience sessions help achievers to be exposed to global best practices in the insurance industry while enhancing their knowledge and skills.
Union Assurance was recently recognised as a ‘Great Place to Work’ and strives to be on par with the concept by supporting a company-wide learning culture and collective vision to be the most sought after provider of insurance solutions.
While completing 25 years of unwavering operations, the company is anchored by a team of experienced and dynamic professionals, a strong capital base and reinsurance partnerships with highly rated global reinsurers. The Union Assurance brand is positioned on the promise of “trust” and strives to deliver this promise by being transparent, convenient and respectful when dealing with all stakeholders over the last 25 years.
