MBSL Insurance to empower the 70 percent of the less privileged' creating wealth for the nation
MBSL Insurance, subsidiary of Merchant Bank, is now in the forefront in introducing innovative insurance products playing, a key role in the wealth creation of the nation empowering the 70 percent of the self employed and the less privileged' with a new life insurance schemes, said MBSL Insurance Managing Director Sydney Gajanayake in an interview with the Banking, Finance & Insurance section of Sunday Times.
MBSL has reached out to the masses to date and with this latest milestone opening reaches out to the discerning people in rural areas, with tailor-made insurance packages, providing security to its social sectors, whilst nurturing entrepreneurial skills, especially among the rural youth. The company has 57 branches countrywide and it will be increased to 100 in 2013 he revealed.
The insurer reported 101 percent increase in gross written premiums of general insurance to Rs. 468.2 million during the first six months of this year from Rs.233.3 million in the same period last year.
MBSL Insurance crossed the Rs. 92.5 million mark for gross written premiums in the Life insurance business in the first six months of 2012 recording an increase of 46 percent over Rs.62.8 million recorded in the first six months of last year.
The company's latest life insurance scheme is designed for the benefit of self employed and the less privileged' such as farmers, masons, carpenters etc. These people will be given a life insurance policy with an initial payment of Rs. 4,999/- and they will be entitled to an incidental death cover of Rs. 30,000/- and Rs.10,000/- for funeral expenses and in the event of a accidental death, their dependents can get Rs. 80,000/as an additional payment to the above and also Rs. 10,000/- each as funeral expenses due to an accidental cause for the pre-nominated immediate two family members. A special feature of this scheme was that there will be a survival benefit of Rs. 4,000/- after the policy period of 20 years. Under this scheme, that the policyholders have been provided with an opportunity to make more payments to the scheme as and when they earn additional sum of money from their vocations.
"MBSL Insurance implements its strategic plans to empower communities in Sri Lanka and its vision is to be a world-class player in a global context. Its major shareholders constitute BOC Group and MAS Group, which are financial giants in their respective industries, and contribute to strengthening MBSL Insurance, so that it has the reliability and sustainability that is of paramount importance for the company" he added.
Mr. Gajanayake revealed that "on call" motor vehicle electronic card system is another innovative product that is unique to MBSL Insurance. This new product makes claiming under motor insurance very easy and hassle free.
We have clearly understood that in order to survive in the industry one has to meet the demands of the market. Therefore, we thought of introducing a very attractive and innovative product that can successfully cater to the upper market needs' he said.
With ' on call card' when a customer meets with an accident they can simply give a call to our call centre and by producing the card all the necessary action will be taken to pay the insurance claim and to repair the vehicle at MBSL authorized garages without wasting the time of customers. In today's busy environment no one for that matter likes to waste his or her valuable time waiting for an assessor to arrive after an accident has taken place. The key-advantage of this card is that our policyholder will not have to wait until an assessor arrives at the accident scene. Therefore through this product the waiting time factor has been completely eliminated. The company's fully fledged IT centers and well equipped motor engineers will assess the repair he said. This scheme is specially designed for high net worth customers and company executives he said.
"MBSL Insurance has already taken steps to provide proper training for its employees at the modernized MBSL campus at Kollupitya to enhance the value of our human capital which is our most valuable assets that we are gifted with. Our objective oriented methodical training will help them to meet the exacting needs of the customers, whilst developing and fine-tuning soft skills and IT skills to enhance efficiency. We will also maintain ethical standards and best practices, Mr. Gajanayake disclosed. Around 1,000 persons are undergoing training at this campus he added.
MBSL Insurance has re-insurance treaties with a panel of internationally reputed "A" rated re- insurers and these arrangements are regularly reviewed to ensure the most prudent terms are negotiated, Mr. Gajanayake said..