Authoritative book on insurance in Sri Lanka

(Author: Dr Wimal Wickramasinghe, Title: ‘Situation Essays’ on Insurance in Sri Lanka, Year of Publication: 2008)

By a Well Wisher

On reading this newly published book on insurance in Sri Lanka, I was amazed how Dr Wimal Wickramasinghe could write such a comprehensive and authoritative book on insurance with the details of many and diverse aspects – a book for all those interested in insurance in Sri Lanka.

This is easily the only book available to the readership with the best update, given both theoretically and practically. One noticeable feature of this book is the expression of his candid and personal views, observations and criticism without upsetting the trends of thought and also without fear and favour. No other author would dare to do so! Dr Wickramasinghe’s clout and standing in the country holding many prestigious positions – a pointer of it is the introductory note given as a personal profile – has given him not only experience but also courage to air his views freely and forcefully. It is a rare and bold act.

The subjects dealt with in the book are enormous with 23 chapters except Introduction and Conclusion. Some of the important ones are overall insurance, life and general insurance, insurance education, governance in insurance, micro-insurance, reinsurance of general insurance, bancassurance, study of insurance law, reinsurance of general insurance, etc. – all related to Sri Lanka but against a comparative perspective. The chapter on Takaful or Islamic Insurance in Sri Lanka given against an international background with all the Islamic terms relevant to insurance explained should be the only one of its kind, available in Sri Lanka. A descriptive account given on the insurance business in India is useful to both Sri Lankan and Indian readers – as the author himself says, it is not found anywhere else in one go.

This is not a book just to be read once and thrown out like a novel or short story. It is in fact a reference book to be kept by the side of an insurance practitioner. There are only three textbooks hitherto available in the market written by two qualified and experienced insurance experts and they are of course useful to insurance practitioners and students. But they are limited in coverage and the number of pages, with no recent developments about the insurance industry in Sri Lanka given or analyzed. In comparison to the price charged for these books, the price of the book under review is very reasonable.
When I saw the first part of the title of the book, ‘Situation Essays’ within quotes, I was a bit puzzled but the author has said in the text that any lively subject like insurance keeps on changing almost everyday and therefore, it is an analysis of insurance as at end October 2007. But its value from both historical and analytical standpoints does not diminish at all as it seems to be the only book that examines a plethora of important subjects of insurance not hitherto examined by any other author.

The book begins with a comprehensive evaluation of insurance business against an international perspective followed by life and general insurance in Sri Lanka and insurance business in India. The role and functions of many insurance practitioners in the context of Sri Lanka and elsewhere are sufficiently examined in the text: insurance agents, insurance companies, brokers, actuaries, marketers, chief executive officers and directors. Up to now, insurance education has been a neglected subject but its recent developments towards a university course, in addition to the one at Wayamba University, are assessed objectively, giving the author’s suggestions for consideration by the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka.

The most useful feature of the text has been the critical analysis of the role and functions of the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka, making a series of proposals for amendment of the Insurance Act as no single amendment to the Act has been made since its enforcement in 2001. The author suggests that the amending process should not be done on a piecemeal basis, as is now proposed by the Insurance Board. There should be an overhaul of the Act considering the recent changes witnessed in both Sri Lanka and elsewhere.

The insurance industry is now fully privatized except a part of compulsory reinsurance of insurance business being recently assigned to a government body called National Insurance Trust Fund. The critical views expressed by the author on the sorry state of affairs of the National Insurance Trust Fund should receive the attention of its hierarchy and the government.

The reader will notice how fierce insurance competition is, especially among bigwigs. In a way there is no harm in it as it bestows an array of facilities and benefits to the insured – a welcome sign. Nevertheless, my personal suggestion is that it should not be allowed to unethical proportions by the Insurance Board as all advertisements in both print and electronic media should be referred to the Insurance Board for prior approval. It is the duty of the Chief Executive Officer of each insurance company to do so, as per a directive given by the Insurance Board.

The plight into which small insurance companies are placed is critically examined by the author. To add insult to injury, the Insurance Board has suggested to the government an increase of paid up capital of insurance companies to Rs. 500 million for each class of insurance business as against Re 25 million for life insurance and Rs 50 million for general insurance.

The other proposal the author resists is the proposal for dispensation of composite insurance business by a single insurance company, requiring every existing insurance company that does both life and general insurance business under one roof to segregate one from the other, resulting in almost doubling of the number of insurance companies, much cost to the company and the insured. This seems to be blind following of the Indian example, a country with 1.2 billion population as against 20 million in Sri Lanka and a country 60 times bigger than Sri Lanka in size.

To my knowledge, no other insurance practitioner or author has argued against these proposals due to many reasons given by the author. His objection to this issue is based on the following: there is no insurance company that is (a) faced with bankruptcy, (b) not reported to be refusing claims on any noticeable scale, and (c) bolstered in terms of capital by resorting to the reinsurance facility of reputed international insurance companies that assume a larger part of risks. Above all, Sri Lanka is a small country. It is no doubt a bold exposition of views in a scientific manner.

Issue of corporate governance is a crucial one in business management. How it is applied to the insurance sector is vividly analyzed in the book against the recent worldwide literature on governance and the Companies Act of 2007. Micro-insurance is another subject that has amply received attention in the text with more material from the international scene, a popular insurance instrument for the poor. His innovative proposals to be followed by the Insurance Board are worthy of its immediate consideration. Bancassurance (issue of insurance policies by banks on behalf of insurance companies) is a fascinating subject that has become popular on the international insurance scene. This is also gathering momentum in Sri Lanka with the proposal of allowing corporate entities too to act as insurance agents – now restricted to individuals only. This subject is treated comprehensively in four chapters in the book with definitions, salient features, role of insurance companies, banks and insurance agents amply explained.

There are many other important subjects dealt with in the book but I shall finally concentrate on the proposal made by the author for study of insurance law in Sri Lanka, one of the most fascinating topics treated both comprehensively and scientifically. As it is, no one has treated this subject with this attention.

This book is an update on insurance in Sri Lanka against a theoretical and comparative background – a book well worth for every insurance practitioner. It is a worthy reference book, written with a lot of labour and pain, using new material from the website. As the author himself says, this book is recommended for all legislators, insurance administrators, insurance ombudsman, chief executive officers, actuaries, underwriters, insurance brokers, marketing and sales force personnel, finance managers and accountants, all other insurance practitioners and university and other students.

For more details the author could be reached at his residence at 6A, Malwatta Avenue, Kohuwala, Nugegoda. Tele: 2853491/2854746/077 3925859; e-mail: wimalwickramasinghe@yahoo.com