Student Insurance Scheme awarded to Sri Lanka Insurance Corp

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

The government has decided to award the ‘Suraksha Student Insurance Scheme’ (SSIS) to the State-owned Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC), one of the top insurance providers of the country, abrogating the agreement signed in 2018 for the purpose by the Education Ministry with a private insurer.

Only Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation has submitted proposals for the insurance scheme when bids were called to the programme to award the free life insurance scheme for school, semi-government and Pirivena students with the government paying 

the premium.  Accordingly, the Cabinet has given the green light this week to a proposal presented by Education Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris to award the SSIS to the SLIC.

The Yahapalana Government launched the (SSIS) effective from January 2018 to issue a life insurance policy to each and every school and Pirivena students under the Suraksha Insurance Scheme. The scheme paid a student Rs. 3000 a day for treatment of injury or serious diseases at a government hospital.

When a student gets treatment for any decease, the ailment of injuries caused in an accident from a private hospital or nursing home, the student is entitled to a compensation of Rs. 20,000.

If and when a student gets a permanent disability following an accident, the compensation of Rs. 200,000 is paid. If a parent died, the student is paid Rs. 200,000 now, an increase of Rs. 125,000 from Rs. 75,000 paid at the launching of the scheme in 2018.

Parents are entitled to a compensation of Rs. 150,000 at the death of a student.

However, the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) charged in September that the since the transfer of the SSIS by the new government to the SLIC from Allianz Insurance, students did not get insurance benefits from December 30, 2019, to July 30, 2020.