BANCASSURANCE: HAS IT DELIVERED THE EXPECTED RESULTS IN SRI LANKA?

Abstract

The logic of having all financing schemes of the bank to be linked with insurance business supports the logic of capturing a client and cross selling products that are complimentary to each other. It also supports the contemporary thinking of having financial services under one roof. However simple the logic is, the implementation of the concept can run in to various problems. Success of this Bancassurance concept will largely depend on the bank’s operational level acceptance and other key features of this scheme. Thereby implementation becomes a crucial factor. Even though there are Bancassurance models functioning in Sri Lanka the expected growth are yet to come. The researcher in this study intends to look at the deviations of these  expectations under three areas; the expectations of the customer, the bank and the insurers. The study is based on two institutions engaged in Bancassurance successfully at present; HNB Assurance and NDB Bancassurance. The customer expectations are studied by analyzing a few structured questions whilst the other two areas are evaluated through information gathering. Conclusion of the study is that there are deviations in the Bancassurance operations today, and there are identified impeding features which need to be addressed to take the Bancassurance initiative forward. Moreover the potential exist in the country to reap the benefits of Bancassurance. The researcher also recommends the concept in both the industry level and the national level. Recommendations for further studies on Bancassurance are also captured.

Keywords: Bancassurance, Fee based income, Customer expectations, Maximum convenience, Competitive pricing

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk