For the first time in history, Sri Lanka will see a gathering of its general insurance companies under one roof and in a common forum. May 10, 2016 will see the General Insurance Sales Congress (GISCO) taking place at Waters Edge under the fitting theme ‘Growth through innovation’, chosen specially to encourage companies to pay more attention to sustainable innovation in order to achieve a competitive advantage. 
The principal motivations behind the organisation of such an event are: the need to provide the general insurance fraternity with an opportunity to share key insights and knowledge on the importance of innovation to gain customer loyalty, to gather different perspectives from international and local insurance experts as well as to obtain views from both sales and non-sales staff on innovation and sustainability. 
Insurance Board of Sri Lanka Chairperson Indrani Sugathadasa will grace the event as the chief guest, with other distinguished personalities of the insurance industry including, IBSL Director General Damayanthi Fernando and Dr. Christian Bartsch of Munich Re. 
The keynote speech delivered by Dr. Bartsch will be one of the primary points of the morning agenda along with Chandra Schaffter’s address on ‘Growth through Innovation’ and two special presentations conducted by Ceylinco General CEO A. Gunwardena and Asian Alliance Insurance CEO Ramal Jasinghe as well as a panel discussion. 
Following the lunch break, the afternoon’s session will be led by a motivational speech made by Dammika Kalapuge. A second panel discussion will bring the day’s programme to an end.
“The insurance industry is constantly evolving and this forum will provide a useful platform to exchange ideas and gain insights from both local and international experts,” said Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL) President Dirk Perera.
“It is a tremendous honour to be part of the organising committee of the first General Insurance Sales Congress,” stated IASL Marketing and Sales Forum Chairman Samitha Hemachandra.
“The fundamental purpose behind this event is to inspire and encourage innovation amongst the General Insurance fraternity of Sri Lanka so as to ensure the growth of the country’s insurance industry.”