Union Assurance PLC is an insurance company in Sri Lanka. Union Assurance was founded in 1987 and was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in the following year. In 2009, John Keells Holdings acquired a controlling stake in the company. The company divested its general insurance business to Fairfirst Insurance and focused on life insurance in 2015. The company was a constituent of Forbes Asia's Best Under a Billion list in 2018. Union Assurance is one of the LMD 100 companies in Sri Lanka. The company is also one of the 100 most valuable brands in Sri Lanka.
History Union Assurance was founded in 1987 by Aitken Spence, Carson Cumberbatch, Mercantile Credit and Whittall Boustead. The company commenced operations and was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in the following year. Union Assurance entered the market when the Government of Sri Lanka ended the government monopoly of the insurance sector with the enactment of the Control of Insurance Act No. 42 of 1986. Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings acquired 81% shares in Union Assurance in 2009 thus giving them control of the company.
Union Assurance divided its life and non-life businesses in 2015, and divested its stake in the non-life insurance business to Fairfirst Insurance. Union Assurance held 8.7% of insurance sector assets in 2016, making them the fourth biggest player behind Sri Lanka Insurance, Ceylinco Insurance and AIA Insurance. In 2018, Union Assurance was included in Forbes Asia's Best Under a Billion list. The company was the only Sri Lankan company on the list that year. The company introduced its new logo in 2020, which emphasises the company's repositioning in the life insurance sector.
Operations Union Assurance is ranked 54th in LMD 100, an annual list of publicly traded companies in Sri Lanka ranked by revenue, in its 2020/21 edition. Union Assurance is placed 51st amongst the most valuable brands in Sri Lanka. The brand value grew by 10.5% in 2022 to LKR1,982 million according to Brand Finance. Union Assurance provides bancassurance in collaboration with several banks in Sri Lanka.
Market research conducted by the company revealed low levels of saving patterns among Sri Lankans. The study revealed that Sri Lankans fall behind recommended 10%-15% of gross salary savings. A quarter of the population had no savings while 37% saved between 1%-5% of their income. The company appointed Jude Gomes as the chief executive officer in 2019. At the time of his appointment Gomes was the chairman and CEO of Manulife China Bank Life Assurance Corporation in the Philippines. Union Assurance won an award at the 2022 Women Friendly Workplace Awards.
Union Assurance Branch Network
As of 31 December 2025, Union Assurance operates a network of 95 branches across Sri Lanka, covering all nine provinces of the island. The branches are supported by a field agency force of 2,698 agents and are complemented by five bancassurance partnerships and digital channels including the Clicklife mobile application.
Finances + Financial summaryFinancial figures are in LKR (mns) Year GWP Profit Assets Equity Employees 2023 18,867 3,758 95,670 24,161 780 2022 16,675 2,747 75,969 14,214 798 2021 15,406 2,054 70,762 15,455 770 2020 13,109 921 62,600 15,108 795 2019 11,648 1,158 55,249 14,663 764 2018 11,244 3,244 49,117 13,672 614 2017 10,118 7,384 43,067 11,965 529 2016 8,271 1,313 35,693 3,867 474 2015 6,965 2,347 31,014 3,465 450 2014 5,945 881 35,604 6,211 445
Source: Annual Report, 2023 (pp. 300–301)
See also List of companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange
References
External links Official website