PROFILE

Sri Lanka Insurance General
Sri Lanka Insurance Life

Q: Describe the overall strength of your brand...

A: Sri Lanka Insurance (SLIC), the largest state-owned insurer, has been in the market for over six decades and is a household brand. SLIC continues to evolve as a brand to provide ‘Insurance for All.’ As a result of this vision, the brand reaches every citizen through our product offerings.

With over 190 branches and customer service locations – and other customer touch points such as our extensive agency force of over 8000 individuals and intermediary services, and digital platforms – SLIC has established a formidable market presence that enables the brand to reach out to customers.

Our achievements as a brand and its strength reflect in the results that have been achieved over the years: 2022 saw SLIC record a profit before taxation of Rs. 12.47 billion with a combined revenue of Rs. 41.2 billion.

Despite challenging market conditions, we were able to increase our asset base to Rs. 274 billion and the life fund to Rs. 156.7 billion, to uphold our position as the largest and strongest local insurer.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka Insurance’s ‘Motor Plus’ achieved a 9.5 percent growth rate to become the market leader in the motor insurance category.

Q: How are brands and branding faring, given the country situation?

A: The past four years have been challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis created stressful market conditions where we witnessed a shift in consumer needs and priorities. As a result, brands had to adjust in keeping with this shift.

Brands were compelled to re-strategise business models to meet customer demands, and had to reevaluate delivery channels. During this period, many brands shifted to digital platforms for product and service delivery including brand engagement.

SLIC too responded to the market changes, and adapted to evolving customer needs through new product developments and enhanced its service delivery by adopting digital transformation strategies.

Brands must continuously adapt to changing environments and invest in nontraditional marketing channels to reach customers – with a special focus on the digital landscape.

We encourage employees to live by our brand values and inculcate them in everyday activities in delivering the brand promise

Q: How do you measure and evaluate the impact and effectiveness of your brand in terms of customer perception?

A: Understanding customers and their view of your brand is vital.

At SLIC, numerous frameworks are in place to gain insights into customer perceptions regarding the brand. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey is one method that is utilised for this purpose, which assesses customer perceptions towards products, services and the brand.

Similarly, we conduct spot satisfaction surveys regionally to obtain customer feedback. The ‘Most Loved Brands’ survey carried out by Brand Finance is a further testament to the impact and effectiveness SLIC has as a brand in the minds of customers and our community.

For six consecutive years, both the life and general insurance categories have secured the top spot in the insurance sector, which makes Sri Lanka Insurance the ‘Most Loved Insurance Brand.’

Q: What role can be played by brand investments to accelerate business recovery, given the changing dynamics of today’s business environment?

A: Prudent investment in your brand should not be compromised during a crisis. Challenges pave the way for opportunities, and these must be seized to stay ahead of the competition. So it is imperative to invest in research and data to understand customer behaviours, which enables us to devise better brand marketing strategies.

SLIC also invested in community benefit programmes where the focus was directed to customers and our community who sought assurances from top brands amidst challenging times. In the long run, this garners a business impact as people remember the brand for having stood by them during trying times.

Q: What steps has SLIC taken to protect and maintain the integrity of the brand – especially in a competitive marketplace?

A: Brand reputation is vital for any organisation. In all business dealings, brand values must be upheld to ensure that our reputation is safeguarded. This reflection is in all our product and service offerings, and customer interactions. We pay special attention to the integrity of our people and processes.

At SLIC, we encourage employees to live by our brand values and inculcate them in everyday activities in delivering the brand promise. Being awarded the ‘Most Loved Insurance Brand’ in the country affirms a commitment to remain truthful to our brand values and brand promise.

Telephone 2357357 | Email email@srilankainsurance.com | Website www.srilankainsurance.com