Sri Lanka Insurance has been a key player in the country’s insurance sector, adapting to changing times and customer needs. Leading the company is Group Chief Executive Officer Chandana L. Aluthgama, who has overseen significant changes, including the recent segregation of life and general insurance businesses and a push toward digital transformation.
A deep understanding of the dynamic nature of the insurance industry and the broader economic environment marks Chandana’s leadership at Sri Lanka Insurance. He emphasizes the importance of resilience in adapting to rapid changes, a cornerstone of the company’s sustained success. The strategic plan and pillars that underpin the company’s operations are not static; they are regularly reshaped, sometimes even quarterly, to align with shifting market conditions. This adaptability is essential for sustaining the momentum that has propelled Sri Lanka Insurance to achieve record breaking results, including a declaration of an Rs 11.2 billion bonus for life policyholders.
A significant challenge he faced was transforming the company’s culture from one based on traditional mechanisms that offered uniform employee benefits to a more performance driven environment. The introduction of the variable pay and merit pay systems marked a pivotal change, enabling high performers to be recognized and rewarded based on their contributions. This shift necessitated careful management, especially in a mature organization where established patterns of employee benefits were deeply entrenched. By successfully implementing these systems, Chandana ensured employees understood the direct correlation between their performance and rewards, fostering a more motivated and productive workforce.
He emphasizes the crucial role of digital transformation in enhancing operational efficiencies and empowering employees at all levels. The implementation of dashboards and digital tools enables staff to monitor their performance and key business metrics in real time, facilitating more informed decision making and quicker adjustments. Collaboration between management and ground level employees in developing these tools has complemented in steering the company towards a performance oriented culture.
Managing Sri Lanka Insurance Life asset base of Rs. 221 billion and a life fund of Rs. 180.8 billion reflects a meticulous approach to investment management and risk assessment, particularly in challenging economic conditions. Chandana underscores the importance of a structured, disciplined investment strategy, governed by an investment committee that convenes fortnightly to evaluate proposals. This committee ensures that risk and compliance considerations are integrated into every decision, allowing the company to make prudent investments aligned with its long term objectives. SLIC’s strategic segregation of life and general insurance operations has refined their investment strategies, allowing them to address the unique demands of both immediate and long term financial requirements.
Moreover, best practices for Sri Lanka Insurance’s investment management include a middle office function, further enhancing the independence and effectiveness of the company’s investment and risk compliance processes. This approach reinforces the company’s customer commitment and ensures a robust and secure financial journey.
He also highlights the company’s robust risk management framework, which complies with ISO 31000 standards. This framework allows Sri Lanka Insurance to identify, assess, and mitigate risks across four key areas: strategic, financial, operational and compliance. The company has also refined its internal control systems, balancing stringent practices with the need for efficiency and speed in delivering customer services. Regular monitoring of processes, behaviours and policies ensures that internal controls remain aligned with the overarching risk management framework, maintaining the company’s financial stability even in a complex and rapidly changing uncertain environment.
A key element of the strategy is the integration of a highly skilled team of actuaries into the company’s decision making processes. This team, in collaboration with experienced underwriters, plays a vital role in assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring the company’s product offerings are well balanced and aligned with market needs and sustainability. By diversifying its product range and partnering with leading reinsurers, Sri Lanka Insurance has effectively reduced its overall risk exposure. This balanced approach not only mitigates risks but more importantly reinforces the company’s commitment to fulfilling its promises to its customers, providing them with peace of mind and security. Regular assessments and adjustments to the risk landscape, conducted at various levels, including the board, ensure agility and responsiveness to the dynamic environment, thereby maintaining a strong financial foundation.
Chandana emphasizes the importance of customer centricity as a key strategic pillar at Sri Lanka Insurance Life, particularly in identifying emerging customer needs and leveraging technology to shape future product and service offerings. The pandemic accelerated the company’s digital transformation journey, enabling implementation initiatives that were previously approached gradually. For instance, customers can now obtain policies online, a significant step forward in making services more accessible. Embracing data analytics to monitor and analyze customer behavior, preferences, and feedback enables them to stay ahead of emerging trends and shifts in customer expectations.
One of the notable successes in the approach to customer centricity is the adoption of the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which has positioned Sri Lanka Insurance Life at the top of the industry. This focus on market research and adherence to global best practices has been integral in evolving the company’s customer service strategies. Mapping the customer journey from initial interaction to policy renewal has become a critical process for ensuring a seamless and efficient customer experience. He highlights the role of digital transformation in providing a platform that not only benefits customers but also empowers employees to deliver exceptional service. Simple technologies, such as WhatsApp too have been integrated to allow customers easy access to their policy information and benefits, enhancing their overall experience.
Advanced analytics and predictive tools are also central to the strategy for maintaining customer centricity. The actuarial and business teams at Sri Lanka Insurance Life use these tools to support product development, ensuring that the company’s offerings remain relevant and competitive in the market. Chandana is particularly focused on regularly reshaping and updating the product portfolio to align with current market needs and trends.
Chandana highlights the significant impact of the legal segregation of Sri Lanka Insurance into separate life and general entities, a structural change that has opened new avenues for growth. Although the segregation was to be implemented by 2015, Sri Lanka Insurance had an extension, leading to a prolonged period of operating as a composite company. He reflects on the challenges of this delayed segregation, noting that it hindered the company’s ability to fully focus on the distinct needs of the life and general insurance businesses. He explains that life insurance is fundamentally different from general insurance, requiring a different approach to management, customer engagement, and risk management.
With the segregation now complete, he emphasizes how the company can better execute its business strategies by dedicating separate management and resources to life and general insurance. This has allowed Sri Lanka Insurance to foster innovation, enhance business efficiency, and drive growth, particularly in the Life Insurance sector. Despite facing internal challenges and external economic pressures, the life insurance business has seen impressive new business growth of 36%, significantly outpacing the industry average. This growth is particularly important for a mature organization like Sri Lanka Insurance, where managing payouts and ensuring sustainable growth are critical.
He also discusses how segregation has facilitated the company’s digital transformation efforts. Previously, the same team managed digital initiatives for both Life and General Insurance, leading to inefficiencies. Now, with a clear focus on Life Insurance, the company can more effectively implement digital platforms, offer personalized services, and integrate Insure Tech solutions to enhance operational efficiency. Chandana sees this as an opportunity to develop innovative products and enter untapped market segments, such as health and wellness integrations, retirement planning, and pension products. Additionally, the segregation has enabled the company to capitalize on cross industry partnerships and focus on sustainability initiatives, including climate change and disaster recovery efforts.
Overall, through strategic segregation, a focus on customer centricity, and embracing technological advancements, Sri Lanka Insurance has not only maintained its position as a market leader but also set a strong foundation for future growth. As the company continues to navigate challenges and explore new opportunities, Chandana’s vision and dedication will undoubtedly drive Sri Lanka Insurance towards sustained success and innovation in the years to come.