HNBA News

HNB Assurance PLC (HNBA) opened doors of its Customer Relationship Management Centre located at No. 131, St. Michael’s Road, Colombo 03. This state of the art facility provides modern amenities for an outstanding customer service. The opening ceremony was graced by the presence of Mrs. Rose Cooray, Chairperson of HNBA and its fully owned subsidiary HNB General Insurance Limited (HNBGI), Mr. Deepthi Lokuarachchi, Managing Director/CEO of HNBA and HNBGI and the top management of both HNBA and HNBGI. The centre offers a complete range of life insurance solutions to suit every walk of life. The premise also houses modern training facilities and the Corporate & Alternate Sales Channels of HNB General Insurance Limited (HNBGI), the fully owned subsidiary of HNBA. Sharing her views, Mrs. Rose Cooray stated, “this new center of excellence reaffirms our commitment to our customers and stakeholders in providing an exceptional customer service. As a committed Life Insurer in the country, with every step we take, we ensure that new benchmarks are established in the industry and it is our belief that this centre would bring many benefits to our valued customer in terms of ease of access and improved efficiencies in obtaining our services”. Mrs. Cooray further added, “I’m sure that the newly established state of the art training facilities of HNBGI in this centralized location would be of tremendous assistance in developing competencies and in setting new standards which would be a resultant of increased service efficiencies and supporting the Company’s growth strategy whilst creating a futuristic work environment for the corporate business units of HNBGI and boosting the morale of the team”. Mr. Deepthi Lokuarachchi sharing his views stated, “in response to our growing customer base, measures were taken to establish a dedicated customer relationship management centre with a team of highly trained and competent individuals to provide a superlative customer service. Taking care of our customers have become the center point of our business philosophy and by opening doors of this modern establishment we ensure that we provide a superlative service by setting new standards in the industry. The Corporate Sales Business Units of the subsidiary, HNBGI have been placed in this premise in order to ensure convenience and a delivery of a bouquet of superlative services under one roof”. HNB Assurance PLC (HNBA) is the one of the fastest growing Insurance Companies in Sri Lanka with a network of 59 branches. HNBA is a Life Insurance company with a rating of A (lka) by Fitch Ratings Lanka for “National Insurer Financial Strength Rating” and has been recently included in the S&P SL20 Index. 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. 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 and won many awards for its Annual Reports at award ceremonies organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and SAFA (South Asian Federation Accountants).

HNB Assurance PLC., a subsidiary of the Hatton National Bank recently launched a new integrated media campaign for its corporate brand. Titled “Strengthening Every Step of Your Life”, this campaign has been developed with the intention of creating an inspirational attachment towards the brand whilst bolstering its visibility and top of mind recall.  
Deepthi Lokuarachchi, Managing Director/CEO of HNB Assurance PLC (HNBA) and its fully owned subsidiary HNB General Insurance Limited (HNBGI) sharing his thoughts on this campaign stated “as an organisation we operate in very interesting times with great prospects for growth and an ever evolving psychosocial backdrop spurred by regional and global political and economic agendas. Our growth over the years has been consistent and more importantly sustainable. Going forward, we have come to understand that as products become more generic, we need a clear differentiator, we want to inspire people to deal with us and seek our custom. In order to do this the Management Team took time off to internalize Simon Sinek's Golden Circle Model in order to crack that 'Why' part that eludes many. Through this exercise we have come to understand that; we do what we do so that we could 'Strengthen Every Step of Your Life'. To us that's our 'Why'. This brand campaign has been developed to communicate our purpose which I think we have achieved”.   
Chief Operating Officer of HNBA Prasantha Fernando speaking on the launch of the campaign said “this campaign will no doubt be of immense assistance to our field force in their process of acquiring new insurance policies especially in terms of the heightened competition that is prevalent in the market and is the grand finale of a process that we undertook to make HNB Assurance the most vibrant entity in the Life Insurance market in Sri Lanka”.  
Speaking on the strategic thought of the brand campaign, Head of Marketing of HNBA and HNBGI Dinesh Yogaratnam stated, “Created on the insights of those special moments we dearly cherish in life, this brand campaign reflects on the value-led philosophy of the brand. The creative approach towards the campaign reflects on four key visuals which vividly depicts the emotions we feel at those special moments in life and those blessed moments we spend with our loved ones. Taking a cue from the sun, which is an integral part of the Company's logo, being above everything else, we have endeavored to position ourselves as having won trust above all, whilst this campaign is run on traditional media, digital too will play a key role in getting more focused messaging to selected segments”.

HNB Assurance PLC (HNBA) and its fully owned subsidiary HNB General Insurance Limited (HNBGI) depicted a continuous growth momentum posting a Profit After Tax (PAT) of LKR 288 MN for the second quarter of 2019 being in line with the business and profit forecast. The Group recorded a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of LKR 4.7 BN against a GWP of LKR 4.2 recorded in 2018, reflecting a growth of 12%.
Speaking on the performance of the Group, Chairperson of HNBA and HNBGI Mrs. Rose Cooray stated “amidst increasing challenges in the external environment, HNBA has held a firm stand within the industry, through the year of 2019, delivering a noteworthy topline growth and steady improvement in the profitability of the group.  Profits of Life Insurance segments grew by 15% excluding the one-off surplus and surplus transfers recorded the previous year, while the profitability of General Insurance segment grew by 61% compared to the same period of 2018.  The Group is equipped with a clear motive for continuous improvement and looks forward to leverage confidence in maintaining this profits momentum, delivering attractive returns to shareholders”. Speaking further, Mrs. Cooray added, “Reaching another significant milestone and reaffirming the robust financial strength, HNBA was included in the S&P Sri Lanka 20 index recently.  The strategies of the Group remain sharp and effective, thus bears great potential of reaching new heights in terms of business expansion, innovation and new product development within both, Life and General Insurance businesses”.
Expressing his views, Managing Director/CEO of HNBA and HNBGI Mr. Deepthi Lokuarachchi stated, “it is without a doubt that the well-focused strategies and collective efforts led way through to the deliverance of affirmative results despite many challenging conditions. Constituents made key, predominant focus on our set goals are being successfully achieved and en route towards overtaking”. Sharing his views on the financial performance, Mr. Lokuarachchi added, “the Life Insurance business showcased a steady and stable growth momentum as before and well over the consolidated growth achieved by the Life Insurance sector in the country. The General Insurance business comprising of segments such as Motor and Fire projected significant results amidst a challenging environment”. He further stated, “total assets of the Group surpassed LKR 24 BN and the investments in financial instruments surpassed LKR 19 BN. The Life and General Insurance Funds reached values of LKR 13.5 BN and LKR 2.7 BN respectively. The Group remains well positioned in its differentiated portfolios and the Management wields confidence about the Group’s future outlook whilst looking forward to seizing new opportunities and expanding its footprint”.