Janashakthi launches Sri Lanka’s most comprehensive hotel insurance cover

Janashakthi Insurance PLC enriched its wide ranging portfolio of insurance products with the recent launch of ‘Janashakthi Hotel Plus’ for Sri Lanka’s growing tourism and hotel industry. Hotel Plus is a comprehensive insurance policy which provides insurance cover to all operators ranging from star-class hotels, boutique hotels to all Tourist Board approved Rest Houses.

Janashakthi Hotel Plus covers 11 frequent and critical areas under risk such as fire and allied perils, fire consequential loss, burglary, public liability, money in transit, breakage of glass, personal accident, fidelity guarantee, workmen’s compensation, electronic equipment and boiler and pressure vessel. Janashakthi Hotel Plus also has the flexibility to customise these offerings in keeping with each circumstance and the attendant risks.

Serene Pavilions Wadduwa, a seven-star boutique hotel, signed up for the first-ever Janashakthi Hotel Plus policy. Serene Pavilions Deputy Chairman/CEO Anura Lokuhetty said: “Tourist arrivals from January to June this year were 381,538 which is 37% growth over the same period last year. The industry is on a sharp upward growth. I’m happy that Sri Lanka’s hotel operators have finally got a comprehensive insurance policy with such a wide scope of cover which safeguards them against various kinds of risks that we most often face.”

Lokuhetty, who is also the President of the Hotel Association of Sri Lanka, said that this was “an ideal tool for the hotel industry which not only brings in relief but also great peace of mind”.

An exclusive 12 pavilion boutique hotel, Serene Pavilions won three top awards at the recent Sri Lanka Tourism Awards 2010 – Gold Award for ‘Best New Small Hotel Construction and Design (Sri Lanka),’ Silver Award for ‘Best New Small Hotel Construction and Design (Asia Pacific) and ‘Highly Commended’ – Small Hotel in Sri Lanka. It has set a new benchmark in standards of luxury, privacy and exceptional service and sits amidst a large beachside coconut grove with unsurpassable views of the Indian Ocean.

Commenting on this unique and one-of-its-kind policy, Janashakthi’s Managing Director Prakash Schaffter said that with the rise in tourism and the expansion of several hotels and resorts throughout the country, the need for a comprehensive hotel insurance policy had been identified.

“We are currently in the year of ‘Visit Sri Lanka 2011’ as the country opens its doors to an anticipated 750 thousand foreign visitors. We are also parallely gearing for the anticipated 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2016. The country’s north and east are also popular tourist destinations. All this necessitates different kinds of new accommodation from guest houses to mainstream hotels and the more upmarket boutique hotels which are currently being built all over the country.”

“We are all aware that certain insurance covers are compulsory for tourist accommodation providers to get Tourist Board approval. This policy has been carefully conceived to include many risk areas which makes it a unique tailor made product for the hotel industry. We have ensured that Hotel Plus takes on all uncertainty of risks and perils from hotel operators and allows them to concentrate more on showcasing Sri Lanka as the ‘Paradise Isle,’ with its wide diversity and legendary hospitality,” Schaffter  added.

As the third largest general insurer in Sri Lanka, Janashakthi Insurance, which is backed by strong world renowned reinsurers, goes on record as having paid in excess Rs. 18 billion in claims over the past six years. Figures reveal Rs. 5 b in 2005, Rs. 2.23 b in 2006, Rs. 2.67 b in 2007, Rs. 2.52 b in 2008, Rs. 2.82 b in 2009 and Rs. 3.19 billion in 2010.

Having acquired Rs. 11 billion in assets in a short period of time, the company holds over Rs. 3.7 billion in Government Securities and is also the only insurance company to acquire a state owned insurance company. It was also the fastest to reach the Rs. 6 billion mark in annual revenue and enjoys the highest stated capital of Rs. 1.49 billion among quoted insurance companies.

RAM Ratings Lanka recently upgraded Janashakthi PLC’s claims-paying ability rating to A- from BBB+; the outlook is stable. The rating upgrade is premised on Janashakthi’s strong performance since the previous review, underpinned by its ability to improve its expense ratio and maintain a better claims ratio than most peers in the general segment.

The Director Board of Janashakthi Insurance consists of eminent professionals, with proven track records in the business world including W.T. Ellawala (Chairman), C.T.A. Schaffter (Deputy Chairman), Prakash Schaffter (Managing Director), L.C.R. de C. Wijetunga, Dr. Nihal Jinasena, Eardly Perera, Anushya Koomaraswamy, Ramesh Schaffter and Manjula Mathews.