AIA INSURANCE LANKA

Chathuri Munaweera is AIA Insurance Lanka’s first female CEO and serves as Executive Director on the board. She counts over 22 years of leadership experience in the fields of corporate law, compliance, company secretarial practice, customer service and business operations, and was previously the company’s Director Human Resources, Chief Legal Officer and, thereafter, Director Operations.

Munaweera is a lawyer with a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law, and holds an ICA International Diploma in Compliance (Graduate) from the International Compliance Association (ICA) and Alliance Manchester Business School of the University of Manchester (UK).

Q: You took the reins as CEO against an unprecedented social and economic backdrop. What were the biggest challenges you saw and what is your vision going forward?

A: Year 2022 posed unprecedented and unforeseen challenges for all Sri Lankans, the consequences of which still reverberate while the impact on the overall corporate sector – including for insurance – has been immense. Yet, it is indeed during these times where insurance can play a societal role in ensuring the availability of required long-term financial protection.

To that extent, AIA’s long-term business fundamentals of creating a healthier, longer and better value proposition for customers remains steadfast.

Looking back, I would say that taking over as the CEO amid this ‘perfect storm’ could not have come at a better time. Two of AIA’s greatest assets are our financial strength and people’s resilience. So by playing to our strengths, we were and are able to provide customers and business partners with uncompromised assurance in delivering on our financial obligations.

To our people – both employees as well as sales force – we were and are able to provide the security of being looked after by the company in this crisis. This combination has paid customer dividends as promised.

Moving forward, our vision and purpose remain unchanged. We remain steadfast in our commitment towards our customers, employees and community at large. I believe that is our calling as Sri Lankans.

We have the strength and the backing of the AIA Group, the world’s largest life insurer by market capitalisation in 2022.  We consider ourselves truly world-class and at the same time, we have an in-depth local understanding with insights that enable us to fully relate to the pulse of Sri Lanka. You might say that we are a world-class Sri Lankan!

This has resulted in being globally recognised as the Best Life Insurance Company in Sri Lanka for the fourth time (by Global Banking & Finance for 2019 and 2020, and Capital Finance International in 2021 and 2022).

Q: What would you say are AIA Insurance Lanka’s greatest strengths?

A: I would begin with our people – the AIA team and our focus on their development, and our understanding of our customers, their particular insurance needs and the Sri Lankan market space. Our distribution teams on the ground are also a primary strength.

And to this, I would add our digital savviness and financial strength backed by AIA Group, and our firm commitment to deliver on our promises within a framework of established good governance practices and ethical corporate behaviour.

AIA Sri Lanka earned the ‘Legend’ title for being recognised as a Best Workplace in Sri Lanka for the 10^th consecutive year and was also adjudged the Best Workplace for Women in Sri Lanka for the fifth consecutive year by Great Place to Work® Sri Lanka.

Our Wealth Planner sales force and financial planning executives across the country do an amazing job in connecting customers with the company. With a history of over 35 years as a key player in Sri Lanka’s insurance sector, the company has a strong distribution network that covers the entire island and almost 4,000 Wealth Planners who operate across 100 branch offices.

We have partnered with some of the best banks in the country, expanding our distribution reach. Indeed, AIA was a pioneer of bancassurance in Sri Lanka and our business model has been unmatched. Our understanding of Sri Lankan consumer needs has ensured that our solutions are not merely products but overall propositions.

We focus on protection and health while serving all economic strata in the country. This is in line with our brand promise of helping people live healthier, longer, better lives – not only in physical terms but mental wellness as well.

With our wellness partners, we are able to offer customers an ecosystem of wellness to help them stay active, healthy and happy. This is a main differentiator for us because we believe we’re presently the only insurer to provide such a holistic ecosystem of solutions for customers throughout their wellness journeys.

The company was strongly capitalised with a shareholders’ equity of Rs. 19.8 billion by the end of 2021. This demonstrates the ability of AIA to withstand the shocks of unanticipated risks and crises in the operating environment, and deliver on promises to customers consistently.

AIA continues to contribute to the betterment of the Sri Lankan economy and society at large while providing protection to customers at every stage of their lives. As such, we continued our societal and environmental endeavours in a steadfast manner.

Q: And what is your take on being the first female CEO of AIA Insurance in Sri Lanka?

A: Being appointed to a leadership position within a multinational giant such as AIA is indeed an honour and a responsibility as a Sri Lankan, and I own it wholeheartedly. The fact that I am a ‘woman CEO’ matters as I can be a point of influence for women who aspire to rise to their own career goals.

I am proud to have been recognised as one of the 16 trailblazers to drive gender equality across the private sector in Sri Lanka through the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) SheWorks Sri Lanka partnership so that I could use many important platforms including my current function to socialise this, not only in the context of addressing societal needs but also the economic needs of the country.

I’ve worked at AIA for over two decades but have never been confined to one function.  Although my academic qualifications are in law, I have used that as a stepping stone to lead functions such as human resources, customer services, governance, distribution and operations to name a few.

To put it simply, I never let go of an opportunity that came my way in terms of on-the-job learning exposure – whether local or overseas – in areas completely new to me at the beginning or which may sometimes be commonly identified as ‘male-dominated’. These factors together with great leaders who coached and mentored me – and with the support of those near and dear to me – I’m able to be where I am today.

At AIA, we truly are an equal opportunity employer and provide a great cultural platform for this. It is not only our employees but also our Wealth Planner sales force that is equal when it comes to the gender ratio.

Over the past few months, I have travelled across the country extensively, visiting our branches and meeting some amazing saleswomen of all ages who are at the top of their sales game and important breadwinners for their families.

I’ve also met some wonderful salespeople and leaders who are men, and provide a protective, safe and inclusive environment for their female sales colleagues to excel in. I learn from them every day, and am inspired by their stories and how they ‘walk the talk’ in creating this win-win environment at AIA.

At AIA, it is not only me serving as a woman leader – I am only one example of many who can fit into that role. We celebrate International Men’s Day as equally as International Women’s Day and also appreciate the strength our men colleagues bring to create balance. A simple example is that we celebrate the ‘parenthood’ of our employees. Our Parents Support Scheme benefits both mothers and fathers.

Q: In your view, what are the fundamentals in the insurance sector?

A: The first is trust – we need to earn the customer’s trust. Insurance is an intangible financial product and our service plays the pivotal role of customer retention. We understand that we’re entrusted with their hard-earned money and it is our responsibility to create the belief that we have their best interests at heart in honouring that trust.

Next is financial strength and stability. In life insurance, we need to ensure that prudent decision making and investment strategies are in place to deliver on our long-term commitment, regardless of any social, political or economic context.

Insurance is a relationship-based business where the human touch is essential. With that, we also need to embrace digital savviness so we’re current and futuristic. It should not merely be in internal system structures or how efficiently we maximise data and information but also in ensuring positive customer experiences, be it with our sales teams or at other service points.

And finally, our cause goes beyond merely insurance – life insurance in Sri Lanka is severely under-penetrated and as such, there is a need to create awareness of its importance. We need to be present in national endeavours, offering support and committing even to environmental, social and governance (ESG) wellbeing.

Creating awareness has to be genuine, beyond simply selling a policy. AIA is so much more than that!

– Compiled by Yamini Sequeira

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Telephone – 2310000 | Email – lk.info@aia.com | Website – www.aialife.com.lk