HNBA News

HNB  Assurance  PLC  (HNBA)  announced  the  launch  of  another  revolutionary  product to  its  product  portfolio  recently.  HNBA  Araksha,  aLife  Insurance product  which focuses  purely on the protection element,providinga  range of benefits  to  safeguard the family of the Life Assured when uncertainty strikes. Sharing  his  views  on  the  importance  of  protection based products in our market, Managing Director/CEO of HNBA and its fully owned subsidiary HNB  General  Insurance  Limited  (HNBGI),Mr.  Deepthi Lokuarachchi  stated  “In  today’s  fast-paced   world individuals’  face  unforeseen  tragediesthatleavestheir families and loved ones exposed to tremendous emotional  stress coupled  withfinancial  burden.It  is in theirbest interest to take sufficientmeasures to facesuchuncertaintiesassociated with life. We often cannot do this ourselves and that’s whereLife  Insurance  comes into play to easeour loved ones of the burden of financial stress.HNBA Araksha is our way  of  helping  individualsin  the  very  act  of  protectingthemselves  as  well  astheir loved ones”. Mr. Lokuarachchi further added,“The Management of HNBA has put in great efforts to develop a  product which purely  focuses  on the  protection aspect of  the  Policyholder and   HNBA   Araksha   is   a   product   developed   with   the   expertise   of   a   team   of professionals  with  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  behavioral  and  psychological aspects  of  our  community.  The  product  has  been  developed  upon  the  analysis  of current  market  trends,  the  real  need  of  our  community  and  the  existing  gaps  in fulfilling  the  insurance  needs  of  the  community.  And  we  strongly  believe  that  a product of this nature would empower families to strike through, even during times of uncertainties”. Sharing   views   on   the   product   attributes,   Chief Operating  Officer  of  HNBA  Mr.  Prasantha  Fernando stated  “HNBA   Arakshaoffers   a   range   of   special benefits. The  product  offers  a  minimum  lump-sum of LKR  5  MN  and  amonthly  incomebetweenLKR25,000.00 -200,000.00for  a  maximumperiodof  10 years   to   the   family   upon   the   demise   of   the   life assured.    In    addition    to    these    main    features, customers   could   opt   fora   number   of   additional covers   such   as   Critical Illness,   Medical   Reimbursement   and   Total   Permanent Disabilitycovers.Furthermore,an    extension    ofCritical    Illness    and    Medical Reimbursement  covers  could also  be  obtained  for  spouse  and children,subject  to conditions.  This  product  could  be  obtained  through  our  Advisors  and  Bancassurance Officers  who are  well-versed  in  assessing  and  providing  the  best  Life  Insurance solutions to fulfill one’s protection needs”.

Contemporary  business  practices  in  the  21stcentury  revolvesaround business  ethicsand   corporate   social   responsibility.Every   businessventurestrivesto   do „good‟especially within thecommunities which they operate in.Challengingthe established corporate  norm  and  the  clichéd  meaning  of „corporate  social  responsibility‟,  HNB Assurance (HNBA) drove many CSR initiativesduring the course of 2017to portray thetruemeaning of being a socially responsible corporatecitizen. Sharing his views, Managing Director/CEO of HNBA and its   fully   owned   subsidiary   HNB   General   Insurance Limited,  Deepthi  Lokuarachchi  stated  “as  a  businessfocused   onprotectionand   wellbeing   ofpeople,   we challenge  ourselvesto  drivesocial  and  environmental change.The    Grouppays    great    emphasis    on    the communitywhichit  operates  in,  the  environment  and its  people.Great  efforts  are  made  across  the Groupto ensurethateverypossible    measureis    taken    to minimize  the  impact  on  the  environmentand uplift  the lives ofpeople. The Grouphas categorized its corporate philanthropy into   sevenmain   focus   areas. Our   ultimate   goalis   to   protect   our community  and help  them  smileand with  every  step  taken,  we strike  tocreate  a meaningfuldifference andenrich the living standards of thepeople”. Under  the award  winning Water  Stewardship  program of  the  Company 04  schools  were  provided  access  to clean  drinking  water  during  the  year, bringingthe  total of such facilities provided to 50 schools with over 6,500 students.    Speaking    on    the    CSR    activities    of    the Company,  Dinesh  Yogaratnam,  Head  of  Marketing  of HNBA  and  HNBGI  stated,  “Amongst  several  other
significant CSR initiatives, HNBA sponsored the Deaf Cricket Team of Sri Lanka for the 3rdAsia  Deaf  Cricket  Cup  which  was  held  in  Hyderabad,  Indiaunder  the  category  of sports. The  Company  provided  financial  assistance  to  veteran  artists  during  2017 under the category of arts and culture. We have beena part of a school rehabilitation program  which  focused  on  developing  infrastructure  of  underprivileged  schools  and has  provided  multiple  scholarships  for  university  students  under  the  category  of education.Our Corporate Stewardship initiatives endeavors to touch as many lives as possible in areas that we feel has the most pressing need. We will continue to do our part, in our own way to help enliven and uplift the lives of those in our community”.

HNB  Assurance  PLC  (HNBA)  announced  the  appointment  of Mr. Ravi Abeysuriya as a Non-ExecutiveIndependent Director.This appointment   is   made   subject   to   the   approval   of   the Insurance Regulatory   Commission   of   Sri   Lanka.Accordingly,   the   Board   of Directors   of   HNBA   comprises   of   Mrs.   Rose   Cooray,   Mr.   Sarath Ratwatte,  Mr.  Mahendra  Jayasekera, Mr.  Dilshan  Rodrigo,  Mrs.  SiromiWickramasinghe, Dr. Sivakumar Selliah, Mr. Deepthi Lokuarachchi, Mr. Rajive Dissanayakeand Mr. Ravi Abeysuriya. A Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants,Chartered Financial Analyst  and  an  MBA  holder  ofMonash  University,  Australia,  Mr.  Abeysuriya currently  holds the position of Group Director of Candor Group, one of the largest listed companies in Kuwait. Mr.  Abeysuriya  is  currently  responsible  for  private equity  investments  for  a  200  MN  Dollar Private  Equity  Fund.  Prior  to  his  current  role,  Mr.  Abeysuriya  served  Hayleys  Group  as  the Head  of  Strategic  Business  Development,  JP  Morgan  as  the  Head  of  Corporate  Finance  and was  the  Managing  Director  of  Amba  Research  Lanka  and  was  the  Managing  Director/CEO  of Fitch Ratings Lanka. Mr. Abeysuriya has held several senior positionsin Private Equity Investment, consulting the World Bank andthe Government of Sri Lanka and has functioned as a permanent member of the Financial Sector Reforms Committee (FSRC), a Prime Ministerial Task Force appointment. Mr.   Abeysuriya   was   appointed   a   Commission   Member   of   the   Securities   and   Exchange Commission  of Sri  Lanka.  He  was  appointed as a  Director  of  Sri  Lanka  Insurance  Corporation and  was  the  Chairman  of  the  Investment  Committee.  In  addition,  Mr.  Abeysuriyawas  the immediate   past   President   of   Colombo   Stock   Brokers   Association.   Former   President   of Chartered Financial AnalystSociety of Sri Lanka, President of IT Enabled Services Association(ITESA) and  Vice  President  of Sri  Lanka  Association  of  Software  and  Service  Companies(SLASSCOM)and   is   the   current   President   of   the   Association   of   Alternative   Financial Institutions  and  a  Member  of  the  National  Agenda  Committee  of  the  Ceylon  Chamber  of Commerce.