Leading insurer celebrates 20 years of excellence

Thursday, 25 September 2014 04:34

Leading insurer Janashakthi Insurance celebrates their 20th anniversary, recording impressive growth ahead of impending regulatory changes in a notoriously competitive industry.

Over the year 2013, the company recorded a stellar Rs. 1 billion in Profit After Tax, while also achieving its highest ever consolidated revenue of Rs. 9.9 billion at a growth of 20%.

Building on this strong performance, Janashakthi Insurance was able to deliver a remarkable 22% ROI (Return On Equity) to its shareholders and the net asset value per share stood at Rs. 12.48 reflecting a 34% year on year growth.

The company achieved these results while honouring over Rs. 4.4 billion in claims. This solid financial performance was validated with the company's claim paying ability being upgraded to A by top credit rating agency RAM Ratings.

In addition, the company achieved Rs. 8.7 billion GWP, more than 75% of which is made up of non-life premiums, reflecting the company's renewed focus on diversification.

The Life segment achieved a healthy growth of 8.3% reaching Rs. 2.19 billion, while non life business contributed Rs. 6.5 billion to revenue, an increase of 10% compared to the previous year.

The Solvency margin of Janashakthi's Life insurance increased from 440% of the required margin to 710% by year end 2013. Total Assets of the Company have reached Rs. 18.65 billion in 2013 from that of Rs. 15.84 billion in 2012.

“Over the past 20 years, Janashakthi Insurance has transformed itself to one of the most progressive and innovative players in the country. From opening its doors as a single operation Life Insurance company in 1994, the company is now the third largest Non Life insurer and the sixth largest Life Insurer. We support almost 4000 employees and agents, and spend over Rs. 30 million a year on human capital development. It has been a long, hard journey but I believe we have truly made our mark, emerging as one of the leading players in the field,” said Managing Director of Janashakthi Insurance, Prakash Schaffter.

He added that mergers and acquisitions were the new way forward for the insurance industry, which is facing challenging times due to the upcoming regulatory changes. While these would spring fresh challenges, Janashakthi is confident that they can face them and are excited at the opportunities offered through this new method of growth, he said.

This hard work has been recognised with several local and international awards- most recently Janashakthi walked away winners at the 5th CMO Asian Awards and the Global Awards for Brand Excellence, winning awards for Brand Excellence as well as the prestigious Global Brand Sustainability Award. Locally, Janashakthi also won a coveted Gold medal at the National Business Excellence Awards.

In terms of innovation, Janashakthi remains a pioneer, most recently tying up with Sampath Bank to launch a revolutionary mobile cash payment solution, using a personalised PIN number. The company also partnered with Dialog eZ Cash, allowing customers to purchase insurance policies via their mobile phones.

In 2013, Janashakthi also introduced the innovative Full Option Locator App, tailored to their loyal motor customers.

Janashakthi recently introduced a cutting-edge document management system, developed in-house, which was fully integrated into all its insurance applications. The Company also pioneered an innovative geographical information system (GIS) that maps local geographical data and assess its insurance risk, using a blend of core insurance application data with publicly available GIS services through Google maps. This novel IT innovation garnered them an Asian Insurance Technology award.

The Company has also consistently been the first to step forward and provide insurance coverage to those most vulnerable - they were the first and only insurer, for instance, to provide coverage for HIV/ AIDS patients and also the first to provide coverage to the Army in 2004, at the height of the War.

In recent years the Company has pledged to a theme of “Inspiring Confidence”, and lived close to this promise, contributing to the community by supporting young athletes. Most recently, they have partnered with the Sri Lanka Water Partnership to promote water conservation in the Maha Oya area. Janashakthi Insurance will also come forward to mark World Sight Day, tying up with the Eyecare Foundation to give sight to the visually impaired.

This year, Janashakthi insurance substantially expanded its branch network with 112 branches now open to serve customers across the island.


janashakthi-insurance-celebrates-20-years-of-excellence

Last modified on Thursday, 25 September 2014 04:50