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By Charumini de Silva
The Insurance Association of Sri Lanka’s (IASL) Chief yesterday called for an urgent and collective effort amongst industry players to make certain the potential of life insurance, which has witnessed dampened growth rates, is fully realised.
Pointing out that only 13% of the population was insured, IASL President Deepthi Lokuarachchi stressed the need to build confidence in insurance amongst the general public.
“We need to analyse why 87% of the population has not opted out for life insurance and build confidence among all Sri Lankans,” he said while addressing the 8th National Forum for Life Insurance Advisors (NAFLIA) held on the theme of ‘Towards a day all Sri Lankans are insured…are we ready?’ held at the BMICH yesterday.
Lokuarachchi said it was imperative to protect the uninsured 87% of the population and instil a level of confidence in insurance.
It was also pointed out that only 27% of the working population has insurance.
“We need to be able to show customers the importance of insurance,” he added.
Noting that the life insurance industry posted a 17% growth rate in the first quarter, he expressed confidence that they would be able to maintain the same level of performance or reach 20% growth towards the end of the year.
“There is fierce competition among insurance players. Some companies introduce competition to their policyholders and then we see an increase in penetration. Therefore, growth depends on the company’s individual business strategies,” he stated.
Sri Lanka Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) Chairperson Indrani Sugathadasa said the insurance industry was poised to insure the entire country, adding that “nothing is impossible”.
However, she stressed that it was important to convert the industry from being supply-driven to demand-driven and highlighted the need to maintain a close relationship with policyholders for a sustainable industry.
In addition, she underscored the importance of training and skills development of life insurance sales advisors to reach out to all Sri Lankans.
“You all are the linking wire of the policyholder and the company. There is a great responsibility for you as sales advisors,” she said.
With the evolution of science and technology Sugathadasa said there were new ways and means to reach out to more policyholders through various new and innovative methods and channels.
Stressing that Sri Lanka’s aging population was expected to increase within the next 20 years, the IBSL Chief noted it was vital to convert challenges into opportunities and introduce novel policies to suit market requirements.
The NAFLIA was held with the objective of providing insurance advisors with the inspiration and encouragement they need to ensure the industry continued to grow and evolve in a manner that was relevant to all Sri Lankans.
The 8th edition provided the life insurance fraternity with the opportunity to share key insights and knowledge on the importance of innovation to gain customer loyalty as well as gather a different perspective from international and local experts.
Pix by Lasantha Kumara
Following the success of Life Insurance Month awareness campaigns carried out during the past two years, the IASL, in collaboration with all insurance companies, declared 1 September National Insurance Day and decided to once again roll out the initiative to woo new policyholders.
IASL Marketing and Sales Forum Chairman Harsha Weerawardena said that this year too the advisors were looking forward to visiting one million potential customers with a goal of attracting 100,000 new policyholders by the end of September.
Commending life insurance advisors from all companies for coming together to achieve a common cause of improving awareness in the market on the value of life insurance, he asserted that they delivered commendable results last year.
“By the end of the campaign last year we did close to 60,000 policies, which is a noteworthy development for the industry,” Weerawardena added.
He said the campaign would also address issues which will have a long-term positive impact not only on the industry but on the economy as a whole.
