Fairfirst Insurance reaches another milestone
With 2019 coming to an end, Fairfirst has reached a new happy milestone. On the November 06th, the Sri Lanka Traffic Police awarded the 25,000th School Traffic Warden jacket to Prem Watsa, Chairman of Fairfax. This was in recognition of the sustained work done by Fairfirst and the Sri Lanka Traffic Police over the last 4 years.
According to statistics shared by the Traffic Police Headquarters, close to over 3,000 civilians die every year from road accidents. And, sadly this number is larger than the number of civilian causalities reported during the reign of a 30-year war that was experienced. In Sri Lanka, most of these accidents can be attributed to the blatant disregard for road rules by drivers and the lack of secure infrastructure.
In an effort to reduce such tragic loss, training sessions and live demonstrations by the Traffic Police personnel supported by Fairfirst are conducted as to how traffic can be regulated near schools. Via these programs, participating students are issued a certificate by the Sri Lanka Traffic Police where selected ones are empowered as certified traffic wardens.
Fairfirst Insurance, over these last 4 years, has engaged with over 130,000 children in over 2,000 schools across 22 districts. According to data from Sri Lanka Police, there has been a decrease in the number of road accidents by 8.79 percent from 2016 to 2017 and a decrease in the numbers of deaths by 1.80 percent from 2017 to 2018.
Commenting on the success of this initiative, Dr. Sanjeev Jha, Managing Director & CEO of Fairfirst Insurance said, “When business does good it can be a positive ripple for the community. We believe that the future lies in the hands of the little ones; they are the agents of change. Which is why we are very delighted that every little step taken brings us closer to making roads safe for the children of this Nation.”
Fairfirst Insurance is part of the Canadian-based Fairfax Group. Fairfax, through its subsidiaries, has an international insurance and reinsurance business with a global underwriting reach, longstanding relationships and a broad product range. Fairfax has a strong foothold in the growing insurance and reinsurance markets of Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, West Asia and Brazil.