Pressroom

HNB General Insurance closed on yet another impressive year contributing handsomely to the overall achievement of the HNB Assurance Group. HNB General Insurance(HNBGI) recorded an impressive growth of 21% in its Gross Written Premium (GWP) as at end December 2022 to reach LKR 6.8Bn.

Sharing his thoughts on the performance of the sales efforts of the Company, Mr. Sithumina Jayasundara, CEO of HNB GI opined “These remarkable numbers are a result of a conscious effort, going into 2022 we knew we had to be precise and tailor our efforts to suit each region and channel” he further added “We are proud to have achieved such remarkable growth in a challenging year. Our strategic focus on channel development and commitment to delivering innovative solutions to customers have paid off, and we are confident that our focus on agency development will drive our growth in the future.” He went on to add “I would also like to express my gratitude to all the teams for their unwavering dedication and hard work during a tough year, and for putting their hands up to help achieve these remarkable results.”

Chief Business Officer, Corporate & Branch Network / General Manager of HNBGI, Mr. Sampath Wickramarachchi expressed his views stating, “Although faced with several challenges caused by the lasting effects of the global pandemic and ongoing economic and political instability, the entire team did well to contribute Rs.3.9 Bn to the total GWP of the company which is a growth of 24% compared to a year earlier. The Corporate & Alternate Channel did well to outperform its target, by as much as 120%, to record an impressive 43% growth over the previous year. The Broker unit also surpassed handsomely by 147%, recording a mammoth year-on-year growth of 58%. Furthermore, the Corporate Sales Conventional unit exceeded its target by 104%, with a year-on-year growth rate of 46%.”

He further added “these remarkable achievements are a testament to the hard work and commitment of all of HNBGI’s teams. We will continue to seek growth opportunities and implement new business strategies to enhance our Corporate & Bancassurance businesses, including introducing and pursuing new avenues and business acquisition models.”

Mr. Jude Benjamin, Chief Business Officer - Branch Network & Personal Lines / General Manager, sharing his thoughts stating “In addition to the agency channel, we saw impressive growth in other key areas. Our HNB, HNB Finance, and HNB Bancassurance channels grew by 18%, 39%, and 19% respectively. These results reflect our dedication to delivering exceptional service and value to our customers across all channels. Looking ahead, we remain committed to upholding our high standards and providing top-quality services to our customers. We are confident that our continued focus on agency development, combined with our other growth initiatives, will enable us to maintain our position as a leading provider of insurance solutions.”

HNB General Insurance Limited (HNBGI) was incorporated in January 2015 and specializes in Motor and Non-Motor Insurance Solutions and is presently one of the fast-growing General Insurance Companies in Sri Lanka, with a network of 57 branches. The Company is ranked within the Top 100 Brands in the country and has been awarded a ‘National Insurer Financial Strength Rating’ of A- (lka) by Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited and has obtained the Great Place to Work® Certification. The Company was awarded the Motor Insurance Initiative of the Year - Sri Lanka award at the Insurance Asia Awards 2021, and is a fully owned subsidiary of HNB Assurance PLC.

HNBGI, a leading general insurance provider in Sri Lanka, has earned a historic recognition as the best General Bancassurance Provider in Sri Lanka 2023, awarded by the Global Banking and Finance Review. This is a remarkable accomplishment that showcases the company's devotion to providing exceptional bancassurance services to its customers. The company has successfully differentiated itself from its competition by consistently delivering top-notch customer service, thereby establishing a reputation for excellence.

Mr. Sithumina Jayasundara, Chief Executive Officer of HNBGI shared his views stating, “HNBGI is honored to be the first General Insurance provider to receive this prestigious award by the Global Banking and Finance Review. To be the Best General Bancassurance Provider in 2023, is a testament to our remarkable team, their talent, strategies and actions put in place to maintain a seamless delivery of bancassurance services to our customers. Through their tireless efforts, we have become the benchmark in the industry of Bancassurance in Sri Lanka.”

“This award will also serve as an inspiration to reinforce our commitment to deliver best in class insurance solutions to diverse segments of customers, via our partner HNB, present across the country. I express my sincere gratitude to the team at HNB for their continued support, which has been a significant factor in our success”

Supun Dias, the Head of Network Management and Business Development for HNB, extended his congratulations to HNBA on their achievement, stating “We are thrilled and proud of HNBGI's landmark accomplishment of being the first general insurance provider to receive this award, making it a significant milestone. Our commitment to supporting the HNGI's Banca Channel in reaching new heights remains unwavering. We will continue to seek ways to combine resources within the HNB Group to bring innovative and advanced solutions to meet and surpass our customers' expectations.”

HNB General Insurance Limited (HNBGI) was incorporated in January 2015 and specializes in Motor and Non-Motor Insurance Solutions and is presently one of the fast-growing General Insurance Companies in Sri Lanka, with a network of 56 branches. The Company is ranked within the Top 100 Brands in the country and has been awarded a ‘National Insurer Financial Strength Rating’ of A- (lka) by Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited and has obtained the Great Place to Work® Certification. The Company was awarded the Motor Insurance Initiative of the Year - Sri Lanka award at the Insurance Asia Awards 2021, and is a fully owned subsidiary of HNB Assurance PLC.

HNB Assurance PLC (HNBA) and its wholly owned subsidiary HNB General Insurance Limited (HNBGI) ended 2022 in spectacular fashion with the Group figures indicating a growth in Profit After Tax (PAT) of 50% to Rs 1,830.5 Mn for the year ended December 2022 compared to Rs 1,223.6 Mn recorded a year earlier. In terms of Gross Written Premium (GWP), the Group recorded Rs 15.6 Bn growing by a handsome 24% compared to the previous year.

“I certainly am elated by the performance of both companies in a year of unprecedented challenges” said Mrs. Rose Cooray, Chairperson of HNBA and HNBGI  sharing her views on the Group’s performance, and pointed out that at a Group level, GWP grew by 24% to Rs 15.6 Bn as a result of the very aggressive strategies of new business acquisition that were put in place by HNBA and HNBGI, taking into account the volatilities that were prevalent in the socio economic and political fronts. “While the Group Assets surpassed the 40 Billion mark to reach Rs. 41.1 Bn with a growth of 15%, the Earnings Per Share (EPS) grew by 50% to Rs 12.20 compared to Rs 8.16 as at the end of 2021. The Group has been able to honour maturities and claims to the tune of Rs 5.6 Bn growing by 36% compared to the previous year”. Mrs. Cooray added “these results and the many awards that both companies won during the year are the outcome of keen management insight and strategies that have been put in place and implemented meticulously, and also augurs well for the performance of the two new CEO’s who took office at the beginning of the year. I resonate the sentiments of the Board in congratulating the teams of both companies for their stellar performance and reassure all our stakeholders that we will continue to add value to them into the future as well. The Group, whilst acquiring the latest in terms of technological capabilities have implemented many initiatives to rationalize their cost structures to ensure that resource utilization is at its optimal level”.

In terms of the Life Businesses PAT, the Company was able to reach 1,483.6 Mn growing by an impressive 48% compared to Rs. 1,000.5 Mn recorded a year earlier, whilst in terms of GWP the Company recorded a growth of 26% to reach Rs. 8.9Bn by the year end, which in fact is the highest growth when compared with the top 8 players in the industry, whilst growth in terms of New Business achieved is 10 times more  than that of the industry average. Mr. Lasitha Wimalaratne, CEO of HNBA sharing his thoughts on the performance of the Company stated, “this has been a remarkable year for us, not only have we been able to grow in terms of all our financial indicators; we have also had the honour of being the only Sri Lankan insurer to be listed amongst the top 70 best workplaces in Asia by Great Place to Work. Apart from this, we have won many awards during the year including Gold Award for Service Sector at the CNCI Achiever Awards as well as other awards for Digital Marketing, Financial Reporting, and also for our Bancassurance Operation. The Life Fund has reached Rs 24.4 Bn while the total assets of the Company has reached Rs 33.7 Bn and an increase of Return on Equity (ROE)by 22% as at the end of 2022.”

Speaking further, Mr Wimalaratne added, “the Company has made much headway in terms of increasing the output and efficiencies of both the Advisor and the Partnership business channels. The Company was able to produce 194 MDRT qualifiers with 4 TOT’s and 12 COT qualifiers including the Company’s first MDRT Lifetime Member. The Company whilst unveiling its premier health proposition SupremeHealth Unlimited during the year, which enables customers to have the best medical treatment both here and overseas, also rolled out its new branch outlook at three strategic locations offering both customers and employees the best in terms of aesthetics, ergonomics, and convenience”. “All in all”, he reiterated “the Company is well on course to reach its 5 year plan and thanked the Board, Sales force and staff for their untiring efforts in this remarkable achievement”, and re-emphasized  the Company’s commitment to its customers and all stakeholders in adding value to them.

HNBGI saw its GWP reach Rs. 6.8Bn growing by 21% over 2021. Mr Sithumina Jayasundara, CEO of HNBGI stated that the General Insurance business has done well amidst many a challenge with almost no new vehicle registrations and a contraction in trade and commerce, whilst also grappling with an ever-increasing claims costs. The Company’s PAT grew by 33% to Rs. 450.4 Mn from Rs. 338.1 Mn recorded a year earlier. The Company saw a healthy rise in Total Assets which grew by 13% and a ROE of 20% as at the year end. A noteworthy fact was also the improvement of the Non-Motor segment which demonstrated a growth of 46% from the previous year. Further, the Company was the recipient of the Service Sector Silver Award at the CNCI Achiever Awards in 2022 and stands as testament to the overall performance of the Company

Mr. Jayasundara further went on to add, “in the business of insurance the claim becomes the moment of truth for the customer, and we have been able to take some giant strides in offering a superlative claim settlement process, we have been able to reduce claim processing and settlement times and also have very successfully incorporated digitally enabled claim intimation process adding much convenience to the customer. Our efforts in this regard have won us acclaim by the Global Banking and Finance Review in being awarded the Best Claims Management Team Sri Lanka in 2022 auguring well for the soundness of the measures that have been put in place. Our aim in the next 4 years is to get to a market share of 10%, this is a journey that we embarked upon at the beginning of this year, and I am happy to state that we firmly are on course in this regard. I wish to thank the staff and all the intermediaries for the support extended to help us achieve the results we did”.

HNB Assurance PLC (HNBA) is one of the fastest growing Insurance Companies in Sri Lanka with a network of 64 branches. HNBA is a Life Insurance company with a rating of 'A-' (lka) by Fitch Ratings Lanka for 'National Insurer Financial Strength Rating'. Following the introduction of the segregation rules by the Insurance Regulator, HNB General Insurance Limited (HNBGI) was created and commenced its operations in January 2015; HNBGI continues to specialize in motor, non-motor and Takaful insurance solutions and is a fully owned subsidiary of HNB Assurance PLC. HNB General Insurance has been assigned a 'National Insurer Financial Strength Rating' of 'A-' (lka) by Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited. HNBA is rated within the Top 100 brands and Top 100 companies in Sri Lanka by LMD and HNB Assurance has won international awards for Brand Excellence, Digital Marketing and HR Excellence including the Great Place To Work® Certification, and won many awards for its Annual Reports at award ceremonies organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.