By Sanath Nanayakkare
BIMA Lanka Insurance Brokers (Pvt) Ltd, a number one insurance coverage dealer, and healthcare service supplier has been guaranteeing the well-being of over 1.5 million Sri Lankan residents by means of varied insurance coverage and healthcare merchandise, since its institution in 2013.Taking observe of the efficiency of BIMA Lanka inside a really brief span of time, The Island Financial Review had an interview with BIMA Lanka’s Director and Country Manager Ajith Alexander to find out the providers the corporate supplies and to get a greater understanding of its future plans.
The following are excerpts from the interview.
Could you clarify your function and present a short introduction to BIMA Lanka?
I’ve been the Director and Country Manager of BIMA Lanka for shut to 3 years now. BIMA Lanka was established within the yr 2013 and it’s a subsidiary of a UK-based firm named BIMA. BIMA is a multinational firm that specialises in affordable insurance coverage and healthcare merchandise in rising markets. Our providers are supplied by means of expertise that permits affordable and accessible options for every and each one. At the second, we’re current in three areas, particularly South East Asia, South Asia, and Africa, and we’re offering healthcare and insurance coverage options to greater than 25 million individuals. Our imaginative and prescient is to offer 100 million individuals with entry to high-quality and affordable insurance coverage and healthcare providers by the yr 2026.
Now, in phrases of BIMA Lanka, together with our enterprise companions, we’ve got supplied affordable insurance coverage and healthcare providers to greater than 1.5 million individuals within the nation. We have two important merchandise, Per-Day Insurance, and BIMA Doctor, a 24/7 telemedicine service. We have greater than 45,000 prospects registered for our telemedicine providers.
We have a workers of greater than 300 in Sri Lanka which incorporates customer support and declare processing groups to make sure swift funds to prospects. We have processed and paid greater than 100,000 claims from our prospects totalling over Rs. 2 billion. Our workers consists of well-trained gross sales officers in Colombo, Galle, and Kurunegala, who clarify the product options and advantages to prospects and register them.
Could you elaborate on the per-day insurance coverage service?
BIMA Lanka brings a product named ‘Per-Day Insurance’ for Sri Lankans with an array of affordable insurance coverage covers. We primarily function three product traces that are ‘life insurance’, ‘hospitalization insurance’, and ‘accident insurance’. Large insurance coverage firms within the nation underwrite these as we’ve got Softlogic Life for all times insurance coverage, FairFirst Insurance for hospitalization coverage, and Ceylinco Insurance for the private accident coverage. Any Sri Lankan can now acquire an insurance coverage cowl beginning as little as Rs. 7 per day and can go as much as greater values relying on the duvet they need. They will pay by means of any debit or bank card of their selection. If they’re a Dialog buyer, they’ll additionally pay by means of their cell payments. Our revolutionary merchandise and fee applied sciences are what units us other than others. This has helped to interrupt the boundaries to offer affordable insurance coverage and well being care options to any buyer in any half of the nation.Tell us about your hospitalization cowl.
Our hospitalization cowl is the very best promoting coverage and is the most well-liked coverage too. We promote it as a bundle supply which incorporates the hospitalization insurance coverage cowl, and BIMA Doctor which is a 24/7 telemedicine service. A buyer will pay as little as Rs. 11 per day going as much as Rs. 35/- for this bundle supply.
The course of of acquiring this product is extraordinarily simple as one can merely dial the hotline quantity 1343 while not having to fill out purposes like in conventional insurance coverage merchandise which require prospects to fill out prolonged types and require them to undergo medical checks. In this cowl too, the fee could be made by means of any credit score or debit card {that a} buyer has.
This product supplies prospects a canopy of as much as Rs. 6,000 per evening of hospitalization and an extra quantity of as much as Rs. 12,000 per day, for accident hospitalization or the use of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Even although we name this product a ‘hospitalization cover’ as a result of prospects get a declare when they’re hospitalized, this actually is an earnings safety plan. Because you don’t want to offer any prolonged payments of hospitalization as merely exhibiting proof that the shopper has been hospitalized will assist declare the quantity. It is a superb profit for the shopper, notably for somebody who’s a day by day wage earner. If somebody will get hospitalized the household earnings will get disrupted however this earnings will present them aid.
Further, this cowl could be claimed for hospitalization in any authorities or personal hospital by offering proof that the particular person has been hospitalized. This additionally supplies entry to 24/7 prime quality teleconsultation from a panel of medical doctors who’re SLMC registered. Not solely do they supply session, however additionally they present the prescription for medicines and lab checks. If one requires any specialist appointment or buy of medicines or lab checks that have to be carried out, we work with our accomplice firm known as ‘Doc990’ for that objective. Doc990 has tied up with a number of hospitals, pharmacies, and laboratories in Sri Lanka for fulfilling these providers.
What are the long run plans of BIMA Lanka?
BIMA Lanka desires to contribute to BIMA’s world imaginative and prescient of offering affordable and high-quality insurance coverage and healthcare service to 100 million individuals by the yr 2026. In line with that imaginative and prescient, BIMA Lanka’s imaginative and prescient is to turn out to be the biggest affordable insurance coverage and healthcare supplier in Sri Lanka by 2024, and throughout the subsequent one and a half years we have to attain that place and considerably enhance the quantity of households we’re protecting. We will proceed to innovate and carry new merchandise and providers to our prospects by partnering with main insurance coverage firms and healthcare firms within the nation and we’ll proceed to make use of expertise in an enormous method to make it simple for our prospects to entry these providers. This is the aim of BIMA Lanka and we wish to be with the shopper of their time of want. Healthcare and insurance coverage are actually underpenetrated in Sri Lanka however these two are crucial necessities for individuals, extra so at a time of disaster. Currently, individuals in Sri Lanka can actually relate to that as a result of we’re all going by means of a troublesome interval and if there’s a loss of earnings or scarcity of earnings, healthcare turns into a important concern. But when we’ve got very affordable merchandise out there, it is going to undoubtedly present much-needed aid to extra and extra households.