Ceylinco Life crowns 25 years of excellence at glitzy awards gala

A veritable pantheon of international and regional insurance heavyweights was in attendance at the 25th anniversary edition of life insurance leader Ceylinco Life's annual awards in Colombo last week.

Ceylinco Life’s Best Branch Head B Sridharan,

Best Unit Head Ms T. Shobana and Best Sales Consultant

A. I. P. Manjula receive their awards at the company’s 25th anniversary awards gala

The company presented 150 awards to top achievers in several key areas of sales and operations who had contributed to its growth in 2012, during which Ceylinco Life surpassed Rs 10 billion in annual premium income, becoming the first life insurer in Sri Lanka to do so.

The Chief Guest at the gala event themed 'Crowning 25 years of excellence,' was life insurance legend K. Haridas, Group Sales Manager, Great Eastern - Malaysia, a long-standing friend and consultant to Ceylinco Life. Adding to the stature of the event was the presence, as Guests of Honour, Hirokazu Ohira - Managing Director, FALIA - Japan, Srinivasa Rao - Chief Executive Officer - Munich Re, India; Tzoong-wey Wu - General Manager - Customer Services, Cathay Life - Taiwan; Khor Han Heng - Corporate Vice President/ Managing Director - LIMRA - South Asia, Mark Birch - Director - Risk Consulting and Software, South East Asia - Towers Watson; Ms Madhavii Bharadwaj, Head of New Business & Underwriting - Munich Re, India; Dr Sidharth Kachroo, Head of Health Business Development - Munich Re, India and Ms Parvathi Shanker, Vice President Life and Health - Swiss Re, India.

Delivering the welcome address, Ceylinco Life Managing Director and CEO R. Renganathan contrasted the humble beginnings of the company 25 years ago to its status today as the life insurance market leader for the past nine years. At the end its fifth year, Ceylinco Life's premium income was Rs 204.5 million, while its premium income in its 25th year was Rs 10,829 million, nearly 53 times that figure.

"Our Life Fund has grown from Rs 121 million in our fifth year to Rs 45,110 million today; our investment fund grew from Rs 16.9 million to Rs 4,825 million over the same period and our branch network from 32 to 211," Renganathan said, pointing out that despite its phenomenal success, Ceylinco Life had always been acutely conscious that victory should not be secured at any cost. "We have always focussed on growth with equity, ensuring that our policyholders and the community share in our success," he said.

Many of the award winners received overseas tours to India, Bangkok, Singapore and Paris in addition to cash prizes, certificates, medals and trophies. The Awards Night included sumptuous dining and pulsating entertainment. Branch Sales Heads, Unit Heads and Sales Consultants who performed exceptionally well from all districts in Sri Lanka were honoured, and one of the noteworthy aspects was the strong representation of Ceylinco Life branches in the Jaffna peninsula among the award winners. The top award winners were: Best Branch Head - Platinum Category B Sridharan from Ceylinco Life's Colombo North 04 Branch; Best Unit Head - Platinum Category T. Shobana from the Nelliady Branch Best Sales Consultant - Platinum Category A. I. P. Manjula of the Ambalantota Branch and Best Sales Consultant Gold Category M. G. D. J. P. Wijekoon of the Homagama Branch.

A highlight of the evening was the announcement that Ceylinco Insurance had been adjudged the Best Insurance Company in Sri Lanka for the seventh successive year at the SLIM-Nielsen People's Choice Awards, which were presented at a concurrent ceremony that took place elsewhere.

Independently rated one of Sri Lanka's most valuable brands, Ceylinco Life has maintained its leadership of the country's long term insurance sector from 2004 onwards. The company operates the largest branch network among local life insurance companies, and has won multiple international and local awards for its commitment to the community and success in brand equity building.