AMANA TAKAFUL

RANK  5

NUMBER OF AWARDS 31

SECTOR WINNER

Insurance (2)

Q: In what ways do awards and accolades enable businesses to strive for betterment, against the backdrop of ongoing economic upheavals and challenges to performance?

Shehan Feisal (SF) and Gehan Rajapakse (GR): The best thing about accolades and awards is that when an organisation keeps winning, it builds confidence among internal and external stakeholders, as well as the general public, which shows that the entity is stable and performing well.

Especially against the backdrop of an ongoing economic crisis, it is of great importance to the enterprise’s reputation. It shows that the entity is on the right trajectory. It usually showcases the potential of any company; and beyond that, it speaks for the strength and resilience of our nation.

These awards – especially the international ones – come with several criteria and quality controls. These set the right benchmarks, enabling us to steer the company in the right direction whilst targeting continuous growth and the upliftment of our standards.

 

Consequently, we have seen significant growth in our top lines. For two consecutive years, Amana General Insurance has been the fastest growing company in the sector. Amana Life Insurance too has come along a sustainable journey, and witnessed rapid and profitable growth in the recent past. In terms of the bottom line, both brands have seen considerable improvement year on year, and have done exceptionally well.

Despite the challenging environment, our strategies have continued to weather the storms; and also, created a new impetus for the overall brand, the company in general and all our stakeholders.

Q: To what do you owe this rapid surge of Amana Takaful Insurance’s success in being a ‘Most Awarded’ entity in Sri Lanka?

SF & GR: We believe that the key to our success has been the very clearly defined strategic changes that the company made around three years ago. That strategy has now filtered down to everyone in the company with clarity as to what needs to be done. Through this, the company has also upgraded its products and processes, and expanded its distribution network.

So these three areas – strategic direction, a sustainability focus and the setting of the right objectives – are keys to our successes right down the line.

“These three areas – strategic direction, a sustainability focus and the setting of the right objectives – are keys to our successes right down the line

Q: Among the several awards that your organisation has won over the past several years, what have been your proudest moments?

SF & GR: Firstly, it is the recognition from ‘Young Leader Award’ at the Asian Insurance Industry Awards (AIIA) 2022, won by our Managing Director.

This recognition was not only important to Amana Takaful Insurance as a company but also, it portrayed Sri Lanka in a positive light among global giants. We happened to be the only Sri Lankan company to have won an award in this arena over the last decade or so.

Secondly, we have won several accolades for our refreshed brand and the strategy that followed. This helped us to be confident about decisions and facilitated a way forward in our approach.

Another segment we are proud of winning is in terms of the product award categories. Our flagship product in motor insurance, which ensured a 100 per cent claim for high value vehicles, was recognised with a ‘Best Product Award.’

We also won a unique award for being the ‘Most Innovative Product in Life Insurance’ where our product concept offered the option of utilising the investment component of life insurance premiums in gold, and reaping the benefits in the form of gold coins and bars, at the point of maturity. These were recognitions at the national level, as well as in the South Asian region.

Q: In what ways are awards and recognition schemes helping businesses to attract – and more importantly, retain – employees?

SF & GR: Winning these awards has a cyclical effect. While it is the result of hard work, awards and accolades help to boost employee confidence, and provide the right assurances to the people. To our employees, it means that they are working for a company which is stable, and also that they will not have to worry about any salary cuts or career restrictions.

It helps staff to rally around the company flag and be true ambassadors of the organisation. This provides the right amount of motivation for our people to achieve our short and medium-term goals constantly.

This culture naturally portrays Amana Takaful Insurance as a preferred and respected employer in Sri Lanka.

“Winning these awards and accolades provides recognition not only to an organisation but is also a factor that employees can take pride in, and share among their networks

Q: Among the several awards that your organisation has won over the past year, what has been your proudest achievement?

Hassan Kassim (HK): Overall, I have been very proud to look at the diverse range of awards that we have won. We’ve been recognised not only at the national level but also, at regional levels – both South Asian and Asian – as well as on the international stage.

Similarly, we have been recognised across several areas of our operations – ranging from financial performance and product quality to service excellence.

Personally, I am also proud of being recognised as the ‘Young Leader of the Year’ (2022) across the Asian insurance sector. This has provided a great reputational boost to Amana Takaful Insurance, as well as Sri Lanka.

Q: How do awards play a role in attracting and retaining customers?

HK: A company’s respect in the public eye is not all about financial performance. We often see high performing companies facing public scrutiny due to several nonfinancial metrics, thereby severely hampering the reputation of a company. This subsequently results in financial downturns as well.

Similarly, we notice reputable companies and individuals managing minor reputational slip-ups and crises owing to their already established public goodwill.

This is what awards can do. They serve to boost an organisation’s reputation as being a trustworthy and forward-thinking institution, and help it to secure public goodwill.

Q: And in what ways are awards and recognition schemes helping organisations to attract – and more importantly, retain – employees?

HK: Employee retention is an important factor in the present-day context. Employees are the heart of any business; and as an employer, the organisation should understand that its employees pay a great deal of attention to the organisation’s way forward.

Winning these awards and accolades provides recognition not only to an organisation but is also a factor that employees can take pride in, and share among their networks. These awards are simply success stories of the hard work put in by every single employee of an organisation.

Therefore, I will take this opportunity to express my utmost gratitude to our team at Amana Takaful Insurance for raising our organisation high enough to be among the most awarded companies in Sri Lanka.

So ‘well done’ to our team at Amana Insurance!

Telephone 7501000 | Email info@takaful.lk | Website www.takaful.lk