Blueprint for financial resilience: The mission to transform Sri Lanka's insurance industry

SINCE assuming the duties of Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (IRCSL) on 2 January 2025, I have embraced an ambitious mission: to transform Sri Lanka's insurance sector from a peripheral financial service into a central pillar of national economic resilience and social stability.

- By Dr. Ajith Raveendra De Mel

A strong and resilient insurance sector is one that can absorb global economic fluctuations while maintaining the highest standards of international practice

My mission is not merely about increasing insurance penetration statistics, it is about cultivating a fully insured, financially literate, and future-ready society where every citizen, family, and business is protected against unforeseen risks.The journey ahead is one of profound regulatory, technological, and educational reform. Our goal at the IRCSL is to establish a regulatory environment that is modern, transparent, and robust, earning the full trust of the public while fostering innovation and sustainable growth within the industry. This is a comprehensive blueprint built on three core strategic pillars: Empowering the Public through Education, Achieving Operational Excellence through Digitalisation, and Benchmarking Our Framework with Global Best Practices.

Sri Lanka's insurance penetration currently stands at around 1.1%. This figure reflects not only a market challenge but also a deeper social reality, low financial and risk literacy among the general population. One of the main challenges to the growth of Sri Lanka's insurance sector is how people think about insurance. For many years, insurance has often been seen as something complicated or only meant for the wealthy.

Because of this, many people still do not see the real value of insurance or understand how it can protect them from financial risks. The result is that only a small part of our population is insured mainly due to a lack of financial and risk awareness.