Financial Times

HNB Assurance expands regional network
While maintaining their growth last year, HNB Assurance was also able to expand regional distribution network, CEO Manjula de Silva said. A new Regional Development Centre was established in Trincomalee while the Customer Centre in Jaffna was upgraded to a Regional Development Centre, increasing the total number of such centres to 12. Meanwhile, the company opened two new customer centres, one in Moneragala and another in Colombo, named City Office, located at the Head Office premises.

HNB Assurance said it looks forward to a period of rapid growth, pursuing a strategy of expanding market presence while maintaining professional underwriting standards.

It maintained growth in respect of both general and life insurance business, according to the company's annual report released to shareholders recently. The general insurance premium income grew by 39 percent over the previous year to record Rs. 338.7 million, while the life insurance premium income almost doubled to stand at Rs. 205.9 million at the end of 2004.

The company is now in sixth position in terms of its market share in General Insurance. It also maintained the seventh position in respect of life insurance.

The company had generated a profit after tax of Rs. 16.4 million after absorbing an additional net claims cost (including provisions) of Rs.25.1 million resulting from the tsunami disaster. The company settled Rs.13.6 million worth of claims over and above what it was legally liable to settle, taking into account the immense hardship suffered by a section of its clients, a company statement said.

The profit after tax of Rs. 16.4 million is 54 percent lower than the profit after tax of Rs. 35.8 million recorded last year. According to the chairman of the company, Rienzie T. Wijetilleke, if not for the tsunami disaster, the profit after tax would have been Rs. 41.5 million, which would have exceeded last year's performance by 16 percent.

During the year under review, the company had strengthened its technical capabilities by finalising a strategic alliance with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd., India's largest private sector insurance company. This alliance was struck to improve agency management, sales training, product development and other areas related to life insurance, according to Wijetilleke.

He further stated in his review in the Annual Report 2004 that the company recently formulated a three year corporate plan through a formal strategic planning process and said that the company hopes to become a leading player in the insurance market by the end of 2007 through the implementation of this plan from 2005.

Back to Business