The Life Insurance Industry saw its Gross Written Premium (GWP) as at the end of the second-quarter 2020 reach Rs. 43.3 billion, up 4% compared to the corresponding period last year, whilst General Insurance Industry GWP was recorded at Rs. 49.2 billion for the same period, down 5% compared to the corresponding period last year.
This could be mainly attributed to the contraction in the economy and business activity said Chairman of Marketing and Sales Forum (MFS) Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL) and Head of Marketing at HNB Assurance, Dinesh Yogarathnam.
“Like all industries, the insurance industry too was jolted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst both life and general insurance companies faced some difficulty with regards to premium payment by customers, the general public was awakened to the stark reality of the need for protection to counter unforeseen situations.”
“In this regard, there is a marked improvement amongst customers to proactively seek out suitable protection plans for themselves. Likewise, industry players to have had to revisit their operating models to ensure that they may be more attuned and in sync with the new normal”.
Digitalization of products and services at different levels have helped insurance service providers in responding to the current demands of the public more effectively.
Though digital interaction plays a vital role in all industries, especially after COVID – 19 restricted traditional ways of business, Yogarathnam observes that the digital evolution of the insurance industry began way before the onset of the global pandemic; with industry players reaching varying degrees of digital evolvement that best suited their proposition for stakeholder value creation.
“Firms were quick to deploy digital fronting tools so that insurance advisors could effectively interact with their customers, demonstrate the product and onboard them, all in a virtual environment. Industry players were also quick to engage customers in their portfolio and move them on to electronic fund transfer mechanisms,” he added.
With the need to maintain social distancing within work environments, firms have very successfully deployed ‘work from home’ as a meaningful and sustainable method for seamless service delivery, both in new business acquisitions and claim settlements. Industry players who possess more robust and evolved digital ecosystem have already commenced their migration to advanced methods such as AI-based auto underwriting, thus enabling them to provide superlative service delivery.
“As we commemorate yet another ‘Insurance Awareness Month’, we will take forward our overarching objective of communicating to and educating people on the need for protection that can be fulfilled by insurance, thereby helping them provide a safer and secure future for themselves”.
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