People’s Insurance appointed sole insurance provider for inbound tourists

Sri Lanka Tourism handing over agreement to People’s Insurance

As Sri Lanka opens its doors to the world once again, People’s Insurance, a part of Sri Lanka’s largest financial services groups has entered into an agreement with Sri Lanka Tourism to be the exclusive insurance provider for all inbound tourists.

In accordance with the guidelines set by Sri Lanka Tourism, this mandatory insurance scheme is offered to international tourists applying for online tourist visas, non Sri Lankan passport holders, dual citizen passport holders, Sri Lankan citizens travelling with foreign or dual passport holders, as well as business visa holders. 

People’s Insurance will provide a medical cover for a period of 30 days for international visitors with effect from the day of arrival with the provision to extend the validity period of the policy for next 60 days with an additional premium. Adding to the convenience of visitors, extensions, claims and settlements can be initiated through an online portal. 

The policy covers hospitalisation, quarantine hotel charges and expenses for procedures which will prevent the spread of COVID-19 if the individual becomes infected with COVID-19 or becomes a close contact of an infected patient during their stay in Sri Lanka. As an added safety blanket, this insurance cover from People’s Insurance is supported by strong reinsurers from the Lloyds reinsurance market.

In light of this development, the Chairman of People’s Insurance, Isuru Balapatabendi said, “Considering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, People’s Insurance takes great pride in being the service provider to facilitate the medical insurance scheme. This partnership means much more than becoming just an exclusive insurer, as the past year has had a significant impact on the economy of Sri Lanka, People’s Insurance views this as our national duty towards empowering the economic mechanism of the nation at a difficult time,”

Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said, “Following the tourism pilot project which we conducted over the past few months, we learnt that it is vital to have a strong State-backed insurance company to handle the insurance requirements of inbound visitors. 

“Having a local insurer partner with us ensures that the processes involved are streamlined and efficient, adding convenience to the experiences of our guests. I am grateful to the entire team at People’s Insurance for working together with us to implement this programme and because of this, Sri Lanka is on its way to becoming one of the safest destinations, regardless of the ongoing pandemic.”