The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced it has partnered with several insurance companies to offer special Life and General insurance products with unmatched low premium rates exclusively for women customers, under the Bank’s ‘Anagi Women’s Banking’ portfolio.
Extending the scope of the Bank’s services to support this segment, the insurance cover comprises of Life insurance, Business insurance, and Home insurance options, the Bank said.
Besides the special premium rates that apply, the insurance can be obtained via an extremely simplified process, and can be extended to the spouses of women customers. The Bank said the scheme is expected to promote financial inclusion, one of the primary objectives of the Anagi Women’s Banking portfolio, through insurance protection.
The policy value of the Life insurance cover provided under this scheme ranges from Rs 1 million to Rs 5 million and covers eventualities of ‘natural and accidental death’ of the life assured during the policy period.
Under this Life insurance facility, a female customer of Commercial Bank between the age of 18 and 45 can sign up for a Rs 1 million policy by just paying an annual premium of Rs 1,100. The spouse can obtain the same policy for Rs 1,500. Women between ages 46 and 65 can opt for the same sum assured with an annual premium of Rs 2,200, if the policy is taken for themselves, or Rs 2,750, if the policy is taken to cover the spouse. The cover can be purchased at multiples of the unit rates of Rs 1,100 or Rs 2,200.
Quoting the 2020 report of the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (IRCSL), the Bank said these are incredibly affordable life insurance policies for women, considering that the average sum assured in Sri Lanka is only Rs 1.4 million for which long term insurance policyholders pay an average annual premium of Rs 28,655.
Commercial Bank’s female customers who become life insurance policyholders under this scheme are also entitled to value added services such as access to free fitness classes conducted by leading online fitness provider Fitzky, and a 15% discount on consultations at any ‘My Dentist’ clinic, the largest dental clinic chain in Sri Lanka.
In addition to the life cover, business women can also benefit from a Business Insurance under ‘Anagi.’ It offers protection against fire or lightning, explosions, malicious or aircraft damages, a series of natural disasters, burglary, acts of terrorism and commotions among other incidents. The policy covers losses to buildings including permanent fixtures, fittings, machinery, stocks, cash, and personal property of the policyholder and the cost of workmen’s compensation, hospitalisation, loss of rent, removal of debris, architect’s, surveyor’s, and engineer’s fees due to damage or accidents, and damage to service lines, to name a few. It also includes Personal Accident cover for employers and employees in the event of death or permanent disability, as well as legal liability cover.
Meanwhile the Home Insurance policy comprises five cover plans ranging from Rs 2 million to Rs 15 million and offers Electrical fire cover, Accidental damage cover, Burglary cover, and Personal accident cover for the policyholder, spouse and a domestic worker against permanent disability. Building, permanent fixtures, fittings, furniture, household goods, electrical items, solar panels, and even food in the freezer will be protected under this policy. It also includes a hospital cash benefit for accidents and funeral expenses.
Commercial Bank has partnered with AIA Insurance to provide Life Insurance cover, through its Bancassurance unit. Sri Lanka Insurance will provide Business Insurance cover, and LOLC General Insurance Ltd. will offer Home Insurance policies to the Bank’s ‘Anagi’ customers through Commercial Insurance Brokers.
Commercial Bank recently launched a new loan product, the ‘Anagi Business Loan for Women Small and Medium Entrepreneurs’ (WSME) and expanded its ‘Anagi’ Women’s Banking portfolio to exclusively support the aspirations of women. The ‘Anagi’ brand name was first used by Commercial Bank with a Women’s Savings Account launched in 2012 with the intention of influencing Sri Lankan women to build their financial stability by empowering them with features such as a higher interest rate over regular savings accounts and zero restrictions on withdrawals.
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has also been in a longstanding and successful relationship with the IFC, both in financial and advisory capacities. In 2020, the Bank undertook a strategic initiative by partnering with IFC – under the IFC- DFAT Women in Work programme – to carry out a ‘Gender Advisory Project’ to further improve its focus on the needs of female customers. This is positioned as a 360-degree approach to focus on both financial and non-financial aspects, including training to further improve the quality of the interaction between bank staff and this customer segment.
Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 11 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 938 automated machines in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.