Sri Lankans and small entrepreneurs secure; government ensures natural disasters won’t destroy their spirit

‘All uninsured Sri Lankan citizens and Small and Medium Enterprise owners in particular, can now be secure in the thought that any tsunami, cyclone or other natural disaster of catastrophic proportions would not destroy their houses, businesses and livelihoods, and ultimately destroy their spirit,’ says the Honorable Minister of Finance, Mr. Ravi Karunanayake.

There is a story that animates this achievement.

Sri Lanka is now among the countries that incorporate the best practices of the insurance trade, for protecting citizens from the ill-effects of natural calamities.

That’s due to the fact that NITF (National Insurance Trust Fund) has under Sri Lankan government sponsorship insured all uninsured Sri Lankan citizens and uninsured properties by obtaining a catastrophic reinsurance cover of up to Rs. 10 billion from major reinsurance companies in London and other parts of the world, through Crescent Global and its subsidiary Strategic Insurance Brokers (SIB). All of the companies in the reinsurance cover agreement for 2016 are with “A”, “AA” and “A+” ratings, and world renowned reinsurance companies. This national minded outcome was made possible through the Insurance services and brokering efforts of Crescent Global Southeast Asia and its subsidiary Strategic Insurance brokers, which facilitated this catastrophic reinsurance cover agreement for NITF, for the year 2016/17.

‘NITF would now as a result of the catastrophic reinsurance cover for 2016, have the capability to settle claims up to 2.5 million for any uninsured property that is affected by a natural calamity. Fishermen would be compensated up to Rs. 1 million for loss of life due to natural disaster while fishing at sea, and all citizens are covered for Rs.100,000 in the event of death due to natural perils,’ says Manjula de Silva, Chairman, National Insurance Trust Fund.

He added, ‘We responded to a request that came from the Minister of Finance to arrange this cover. It will greatly enhance the ability of the Treasury to absorb the impact of a significant natural disaster. The speed with which claims for compensation can be settled will also be vastly improved as we will be coordinating directly with the Ministry of Disaster Management. We greatly appreciate the role played by Crescent Global who succeeded in obtaining reinsurance cover from an excellent panel of reinsurers whose reputations underpin the effectiveness and the quality of the programme.’