Ceylinco Life ends 2016 as country’s No. 1 Life insurer for 13th year in a row

Strong growth in new business and noteworthy returns on investments generated Rs. 23.43 billion in total income for Ceylinco Life in FY 2016, during which the company retained its position as the market leader in Sri Lanka’s Life insurance industry for the 13th consecutive year.

The Rs. 3.6 billion improvement in income reflected a growth of 17.8% over 2015, and was made up of a growth of Rs. 1.6 billion or 12% in premium income, and an increase of Rs. 2 billion in investment income, which grew by 30% in the 12 months ending 31 December 2016, the company said.

Ceylinco Life recorded gross premium income of Rs. 15 billion in the year reviewed, selling 143,693 new Life policies at a monthly average of 11,974. 

The company’s Life Fund grew by 14% to Rs. 77.93 billion at the end of the year under review, following a transfer of Rs. 9.91 billion to the fund after the final shareholder transfer. This represents a 24% increase over the transfers made in 2015. Over the past two years alone, Ceylinco Life’s Life Fund has grown by nearly 30%.

The company recorded net profit of Rs. 3.1 billion for the year and transferred Rs. 2.3 billion to shareholders. Dividends and earnings to shareholders for the 12 months exceeded Rs. 3.4 billion.

“We are satisfied with the growth achieved in 2016 in the context of the general sentiment that prevailed in the market during the year,” Ceylinco Life Managing Director/CEO R. Renganathan commented. “Our strategy of focussing on the core message of life insurance and the on importance of trust when entering into ‘a relationship for life’ has clearly been successful.”

He said investment income for the year as Rs. 8.78 billion reflected the professional management of the company’s investment portfolio, which grew by a solid 20% to Rs. 80.75 billion as at 31 December 2016. 

At the end of the year under review, Ceylinco Life’s investment portfolio comprised of Government Securities (53%); Fixed Deposits (9%); Real Estate (8%); Corporate Debt (29%) and Others (1%). All 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).

A key performance indicator that represents the company’s financial strength and ability to meet its financial obligations in respect of its insurance contracts is its Capital Adequacy Ratio, which stood at 335% at the end of 2016, more than two and a half times the statutory requirement of 120%.

Gross claims and benefits paid by Ceylinco Life to policyholders in 2016 surpassed Rs. 6.8 billion, an 11% improvement over the previous year. This included Rs. 2.9 billion in annual bonuses and ‘Avurudu cash’ bonuses to more than 300,000 policyholders and maturities totalling Rs. 4.2 billion. The annual bonus pay-out in 2016 was the highest in the company’s history.

One of the highlights of the year reviewed was the reaffirmation by World Finance, the respected UK-based magazine, of Ceylinco Life as the ‘Best Life Insurance Company in Sri Lanka’ for the third successive year, following an in-depth assessment of key performance indicators. This prestigious accolade is based on scores accorded to the company on multiple parameters pertaining to long term insurance. 

Among the areas looked at were average time to underwrite and to issue a policy; how risk exposure is assessed and accommodated; achievements in the 12 months reviewed; how appropriate cover is ensured for new and existing clients; Customer Retention Rate; Average Time in Claim Settlement; New Customer Acquisition Rate; Average Cost per Policy and Net Premium.

Another highlight of 2016 was Ceylinco Life’s increased emphasis on greening its operations. Besides the eco-friendly branch buildings opened in the course of the year, the company launched a series of environment-related initiatives across its branch network that generated a saving of more than 43,000 litres of fuel, an improvement of 12% over 2015; a saving of 46,228 units of electricity and a reduction of 2.8 million sheets of A4-sized paper. 

Ceylinco Life also broke new ground in 2016 with the installation of the biggest solar electricity system in the city of Colombo at the company’s Head Office. With a system capacity of 63.18kW, the solar power unit generates a saving of 7,200 units of electricity per month, resulting in an annual reduction of 65 tons of CO2 emitted to the environment as a result of consumption of power from the national grid and thermal power generators.

The market leader in Sri Lanka’s life insurance sector since 2004, Ceylinco Life has close to a million lives covered by active policies. The company is acknowledged as the benchmark for innovation in the local insurance industry for its work in product research and development, customer service, professional development and corporate social responsibility.