The Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) will be the leader in the insurance industry which is the wish of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the new management, said SLIC Chairman Jagath Wellawatte addressing the staff on January 1 which coincidentally happens to be the birthday of the oragnisation set up on the same day in 1961.
“The SLIC has been in the forefront of the industry with excellent performance but that has not been consistent. The pioneer in the insurance industry must reach the pinnacle of success and continue to remain there,” Wellawatte said, stressing on team work to achieve excellence.
The Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation also known as Sri Lanka Insurance, is the largest and strongest composite insurance provider and the first and only insurance company in the country to be assigned a prime AAA- rating for Insurance Financial Strength from the US rating agency Fitch Ratings New York City. The company now manages assets worth over US$1102 million.
The new management of SLIC aims at going beyond numbers to achieve excellence through ‘employee centric policies’ which has helped many leading global corporates to reach excellence.
“We will have a flag representing employees that will be hoisted along with the national and company flags on January 1, 2021 and the flag will be hoisted by the best employee, who could be even an employee of the janitorial department,” Wellawatte said, adding that he expects every employee to work as a team to achieve success.
“I am a team worker and I hope all will work in the same way casting aside all differences to achieve the objectives of the organisation which has earned the reputation and goodwill of customers for decades,” the SLIC Chairman said.
SLIC operates 158 branches across the country with Gross Written Premium (GWP) surpassing Rs. 19 billion in the General insurance sector and (GWP) of Rs. 14.8 billion in the Life sector.
The new management of SLIC, according to the chairman, will encourage and entertain new thinking and innovative initiatives of the employees which is essential to remain in a competitive business environment.
“We have lot of young blood who are dynamic and think out of the box to be ahead of the competitors. We cannot be complacent and bask on the state sector business. We must compete in the open market with new strategies,” Wellawatte said, adding that his strategy is to achieve excellence through empowerment of employees who are the driving force of an organisation. Trade Unions he said have much to contribute to the organisation and added that the he would not look at them in suspicion but rather as those who work for the welfare of the organisation.
“I am not a super human but a worker among workers. I will be open to my staff and help them achieve individual and corporate success,” the SLIC chief said, adding that no employee should undermine his or her responsibilities at the expense of the customers. Wellawatte who assumed duties last week has served as the chairman of the State Mortgage and Investment Bank and the National Child Protection Authority and Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau.
In 1993, with the objective of providing greater autonomy to operate in this environment, the corporation was converted to a fully government-owned limited liability corporate entity. It was subsequently sold to the ‘Distilleries-Spence Consortium’ under the Government’s Privatisation Plan in April 2003 and it became a subsidiary of Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC.
However, following a case filed in the Supreme Court in 2007 the sale of SLIC was annulled in 2009.