This years ICASL’s Annual Report awards saw premier insurance company Union Assurance PLC accorded the overall winner’s award in this prestigious awards ceremony which is the benchmark for performance indicators and compliance in listed companies in Sri Lanka.

Union Insurance PLC, which comes under the umbrella of John Keells Holdings PLC and Carsons Cumberbatch PLC just recently won the a National Business Excellence Award from the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and became the first insurance company to win an award at the NCE Export Awards too.

The annual report which underlined the theme ‘Focus – the man who wins is the man who thinks he can’ spelled out the unrelenting focus that Union Assurance has continued to display in its business practices since inception.

Deputy CEO/General Manager Finance & Planning Dirk Perera felt that Union Assurance is certainly deserving of the award, saying, “It’s good to be recognized among the top corporate reports in Sri Lanka. The award is a great tribute to the excellent teamwork and dedication of our people at all levels as well as to our customers and shareholders who have placed their trust and confidence in us.”

He explained the reasons that Union Assurance had an edge over other annual reports stating that a concerted effort was put into the production of the report this year. “While we improved our financial statements, we also added key value drivers of the business, associated risks, corporate governance practices and commitment to all stakeholder groups in a transparent accountable milieu.” In addition, Union Assurance was also placed first in the insurance and management commentary categories and won fourth place for corporate governance disclosures.
Union Assurance has been a regular winner at past ICASL Annual Report awards although this is the first year that the company emerged as an overall winner displacing regular contenders for that primary spot.

Last year and in 2004, Union Assurance was placed first in the insurance category, while the company also won third place for corporate governance disclosures. Union Assurance has also been a winner at the South Asian Federation of Accountants annual awards being accorded winning position in both 2004 and 2005 in the non-banking financial services category. The company also became the first insurance company to win an NCEW Export Award this year.

The ICASL Annual Report Awards work on the objectives of promoting better and effective communication to stakeholders especially in financial and business information and compliance with legislative requirements and generally accepted accounting practices.

The overall test applied by the judges is, “What is reasonable to expect from the organisation’s annual report so that the stakeholder can make informed decisions?”

Union Assurance which is now renowned for its innovative creativity in a highly competitive insurance environment in the country continued its commitment towards stakeholders by launching and enhancing products which included the new ‘Union Call & Go’ and Union Advantage Life Insurance, expanding penetration through an expansive branch network and initiating strategic partnerships with banking partners to expand on Union Pay Easy Scheme. Union Neth Hamuwa which is the company’s CSR vehicle also spearheaded a series of projects including the conduct of an all-island aesthetic competition and cultural show at which over 26,000 children from over 19 districts participated, programmes for small and medium scale entrepreneurs to boost their productivity and increase profitability, upgrading skills of primary school teachers and launching Phase VI of the Crime Prevention Project covering the North Central Province in partnership with the Sri Lanka Police.

The company aims to continue this winning drive maintaining growth and profit momentum with focused investments in new products, IT and training and development to enhance customer service and convenience.

Says the Deputy CEO, “As an institution in the financial services industry dealing in public funds and accepting risk on behalf of customers across the business spectrum, Union Assurance is committed to the highest standards of professionalism, transparency and integrity in all its dealings and I firmly believe that these aspects are fairly presented in our annual report which has been duly recoginsed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.”