News & market updates

The Ceylon Chamber coordinated Cyclone Ditwah relief with member companies including Aitken Spence, Central Finance, Union Assurance, Union Bank, Eastern Merchants and Wealthtrust, mobilising over 190 volunteer hours and handling 40,000+ emergency assistance requests to support the DMC’s emergency operations.

Union Assurance (UAL.N0000) released its Suwamaga Impact Report showing the CSR programme delivered free diabetes screenings to more than 23,000 people across all 25 districts, achieving 155% of its 15,000 target. The report found 76% of those referred for HbA1c were diabetic, nearly 3% were newly diagnosed and 71% reported positive behavioural change.

Union Assurance celebrated over 65 Partnership Distribution IROs who qualified for MDRT status for 2024, including two Top of the Table and 14 Court of the Table qualifiers. The event was held at Hilton Colombo and Union Assurance is a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH).

Union Assurance held its Union Assurance Premier Club Q1 & Q2 2025 recognition, rewarding 190 top agency advisers with cash and gold coins totaling Rs. 40 million. Awards spanned Bronze (166), Silver (21), Gold (7), Diamond (3), 15 Leader Awards and five Platinum achievers.

Nalin Subasinghe has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sri Lanka Insurance Life, effective 3 November 2025. He brings over 21 years' insurance experience, including senior roles at HNB Assurance, Union Assurance and Capital Alliance.

InsureMe, Sri Lanka’s largest end-to-end digital insurance aggregator, offers a platform and proprietary solutions (DigiEye, DigiMed, DigiEx) that let customers compare/purchase/manage policies and help insurers modernize operations.

Union Assurance hosted an awards event recognising Seylan Bank’s 2024 bancassurance champions, with Anuradhapura Branch named Branch Champion and the North Central Region named Regional Champion.

Union Assurance PLC has fully digitised its Advisor Life Cycle Management, automating adviser onboarding and self-service and integrating with the Sri Lanka Insurance Institute's digital exams platform. The change accelerates onboarding, improves data accuracy, boosts productivity and delivers cost savings.

Union Assurance (UAL.N0000) retained a place in Brand Finance's Top 50 Most Valuable Brands in Sri Lanka 2025. The company emphasized its digital transformation initiatives and its Suwamaga CSR diabetes program, which provided free testing to over 22,000 people (Sep 2024–Aug 2025).

The Insurance Association of Sri Lanka hosted the 16th NAFLIA Conference to promote adviser professionalism and industry growth, with over 700 attendees and awards presented (Union Assurance won a Gold). The event emphasised digital upskilling, innovation and regulatory collaboration to strengthen life insurance.

Union Assurance PLC sold its 22% stake (30.8m shares) in Fairfirst Insurance to Fairfax Asia Ltd for Rs. 2.64 billion. Fairfax Asia is a unit of Fairfax Financial, which is also the largest shareholder of John Keells Holdings PLC.

Union Assurance PLC sold its 22% stake in Fairfirst Insurance to Fairfax Asia for Rs2.638 billion, John Keells Holdings said. The divestment comprised 30,800,000 ordinary shares for a total consideration of Rs2,638,079,877.

Union Assurance (UAL.N0000) partnered with Flash Health to offer free monthly online doctor consultations through its Clicklife app. The move integrates digital health services into the insurer's mobile ecosystem, complementing other Clicklife offerings such as mobile cancer care coverage.

Janashakthi Insurance (JINS.N0000) reported Q2 YTD 2025 net profit of LKR 1,318m, up 70%, with first-year premiums up 61% and GWP of LKR 3,769m. As JXG's flagship, the insurer also grew regular long-term business 32% and new regular first-year premium 73%, citing digital and distribution expansion.

Union Assurance (UAL.N0000) has launched an industry-first Adviser Welfare Scheme offering advisers and their families critical-illness cover, bereavement support, family welfare assistance, scholarships for children and property-damage protection.

Brand Finance published Sri Lanka's 100 Most Valuable Brands for 2025, ranking Bank of Ceylon top with a brand value of Rs.57,411m; Commercial Bank, Dialog and People’s Bank follow the top positions. The list covers firms across banking, telecoms, FMCG, healthcare, hospitality and other sectors.

Union Assurance (UAL.N0000) held its Partnership Distribution Annual Awards 2024, highlighting expansion of its bancassurance and corporate channels and claiming the largest partnership portfolio among private banks. The company said it is broadening strategic partnerships to improve accessibility to life insurance.

Union Assurance celebrated top performers of its Pan Asia Bank bancassurance channel, recognising Edward Kevin as Individual Category winner and Kotahena Branch as Top-performing Branch while reaffirming the partnership.

Softlogic Life Insurance PLC (AAIC.N0000) has completed the 100% acquisition of Allianz Life Insurance Lanka, which will become a fully owned subsidiary and be renamed SL Insurance Lanka Ltd. Softlogic Life reported GWP of Rs. 31,574 billion (17.2% market share) as at Dec 2024 and 25% growth in Q1 2025.

Union Assurance hosted 'Echoes of Excellence 2024' to honour top performers from Union Bank's bancassurance channel, rewarding high achievers with an exclusive full-board stay. Company leaders said the event reaffirms the partnership since 2018 and a commitment to strengthen collaboration.

Union Assurance held its Agency Distribution Annual Awards 2024 at Cinnamon Life, recognising over 450 advisers with cash prizes, luxury domestic and international trips and vehicles; David Baskaran Thinesh was named 'Ultimate Champion'.

Union Assurance (UAL.N0000) became the first Sri Lankan life insurer to achieve ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification. The certification validates its Information Security Management System covering customer data, cloud governance, threat intelligence and Zero Trust controls; it is also implementing ISO 27701 for privacy.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) reported recurring EBITDA up 12% to Rs.50.43bn for FY2024/25 excluding City of Dreams Sri Lanka, with group recurring PBT (ex-City of Dreams) rising 60% to Rs.22.93bn. City of Dreams pre-opening costs weighed on reported EBITDA while WCT-1 began commercial operations and Nuwa is due to open Aug 2025.

Union Assurance launched a new Employee Value Proposition, 'Grow Beyond Limits', to attract, develop and retain talent by prioritising meritocracy, skill development, career progression and work–life balance.

Pasan Wanigasekara has been appointed to the Board of John Keells PLC as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He currently also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Abans Finance PLC and Union Assurance PLC.

Union Assurance PLC reported profit before tax of Rs. 5.2 billion for the year ended 31 Dec 2024. Gross written premium rose 15% to Rs. 21.6 billion, profit after tax was Rs. 3.7 billion, final dividend Rs. 5.00/share and total assets reached Rs. 109.5 billion.