Q: Is your firm taking steps to help staff overcome the fallout from the lockdown and if so, how?

We made it known that no staff member would be made redundant, and we’re happy to say that all salaries and other benefits have been disbursed without any deductions or delays.

Department and regional heads were in constant touch with staff and no unfortunate incidents were reported from the Ceylinco family.

Since insurance was declared an essential service, we provided transport for a quarter of our staff in company transport with a maximum of four people in each vehicle. And we’ve continued  this practice even though the lockdown was relaxed some time ago. Wherever necessary, we also sent food packs and other essentials.

It is worth mentioning the contribution made by our staff – they gave their best to the company during this period even though most of them were working from home without time limitations.

In order to provide a safe working environment, the company also took stringent steps in complying with safety measures and precautions stipulated by the health authorities while adhering to the required hygiene standards.

Every staff member was encouraged to do their utmost as responsible citizens in helping authorities tackle the situation.

Q: And how has your organisation played a part in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 crisis?

Even during the height of the curfew, we continued with our operations to the maximum possible extent.

Our call centre was operational 24/7 and customers were given an opportunity to renew their policies online. At the same time, we continued to provide all essential services without interruption.

In addition, our sales personnel were constantly in touch with customers to address every need. We even reviewed claims during this period, having obtained permission from the authorities, all the while being mindful and taking the necessary precautions.

We processed two large claims during the curfew: one for an oil mill in Gampaha, which caught fire; and the other, for a hotel in Colombo. These two claims alone totalled over Rs. 700 million.

Overall, we paid claims to the value of 1.6 billion rupees during the three-month period from March to May, which is when the impact of the curfew was most severe. A further Rs. 1.2 billion in claims was paid out in June. Arrangements were also made to pay claims online and credit monies to customer accounts via online transfers.

Q: Has your organisation participated in any community assistance endeavours – and if so, could you outline them?

In support of the efforts taken to combat the pandemic by the health authorities, the management of both Ceylinco General Insurance and Ceylinco Life Insurance donated four units of German-made ICU ventilators to the National Hospital in Colombo so as to expand its capacity.

In addition to this, several other programmes including the distribution of food packs were carried out by the company and staff members to mitigate the suffering across society.