In a bid to share expertise and promote cross-cultural learning, Janashakthi General Insurance recently hosted ‘Managing Your Risks Better’, a seminar on risk management in the hotel industry. Several members of the hospitality industry attended the seminar held at Cinnamon Lakeside. 

The seminar worked to give participants a holistic understanding of the risks involved in the hospitality industry, with several experts in varying fields giving informative talks on the topic. “Sri Lanka is increasingly being promoted as a tourist destination. Not many people think of the risks involved in the tourist industry. That’s why we as a responsible insurer want to educate industry representatives of the risks, so that they can be prepared for any eventuality,” Janashakthi General Insurance Limited Chief Executive Officer Jude Fernando said speaking at the event. Janashakthi General Insurance Limited General Manager Insurance Shani Ranasinghe opened proceedings, giving participants an introduction into the common misconceptions made when making an insurance claim by hoteliers.

Providing international perspective, McLarens Global Claims Services Singapore Regional Loss Adjuster Simon Stacey spoke about his experience during devastating floods in Northern and Central Thailand in 2011. In a wide-ranging and informative talk, Stacey provided insights on the role of a loss adjuster when evaluating a wide variety of claims – from stock to machinery and fixtures and fittings. 

He also provided intensive information on making claims for business interruption, a topic of great relevance to those in the hospitality industry in the event of a natural catastrophe. In this way, participants learned the best way to prepare at the time of purchasing an insurance 
policy and what steps needed to be taken to ensure a smooth claims payment process. 



Disaster Management Centre Sri Lanka Director Mitigation, Research and Development Anoja Senevirathne also spoke at the seminar on how to reduce risks and hazards associated with a natural disaster. Providing detailed statistics, Senevirathne explained that the fallout from a natural disaster event such as a 
flood or tsunami would impact the private sector as well as the public sector causing more damage and huge losses. 

In this sense, the private sector too had a part to play in minimizing its own exposure to risk, she said. As such, members of the hospitality industry should conduct detailed contingency management plans incorporating disaster risk reduction measures so that they could minimize their own losses. Transferring risk via purchasing an insurance policy should be done in a meaningful way particularly considering the spatial distribution of disaster risk, 
she added.