Strategic Insurance continues winning ways, now empowered by Uniba Partners

• Fairfirst emerge as champions winning over runners-up Allianz SE and Softlogic Life as plate champions. SLIC clinch the coveted netball title

The Inter Insurance Company Cricket Sixes and a Netball tournament got underway this year on Saturday 24 August, at the Mercantile Cricket Grounds, organised by the SLII under sponsorship of Strategic Insurance Brokers – local insurance’s most trusted intermediaries.

The Hema Wijeratne Trophy and Lakvinsure Plate Trophy is now a fixture in the Sri Lankan cricketing calendar, and is the insurance industry championship that makes sure health, wellness and fitness via sport is at the forefront of the insurance industry’s goals for its internal and external customers.

14 reputed insurance teams in Sri Lanka competed in the tournament and after a competitive first round, eight teams reserved their positions in the 2nd round games. 

The quarter-final line up was as follows: Janashakthi vs. Fairfirst, LOLC vs. Cooperate Insurance, Softlogic vs. Union Assurance, and Allianz vs. Ceylinco (G). After some thrilling quarter-final games, four teams got the privilege to play in the semi-finals. 

The Plate trophy ‘Lakvinsure’ was played between LOLC team and Softlogic team and in the end, Softlogic team won the match comfortably against LOLC. They restricted LOLC for just 21 runs in 5 overs and with the bat, they chased the target in 2.2 overs and got their hands on the plate championship.

In the first semi-finals, Fairfirst team won playing against LOLC. In the second semi-finals, Allianz took up against Softlogic team, Allianz reserved their position in the finals against Fairfirst team.

After a thrilling round of cricket two best teams got their chances to play in the finals and it turned out to be an absolute beauty of a game. Fairfirst won the toss and elected to field first against Allianz team. Allianz team were only able to score 41 in 5 overs and all in courtesy of some great bowling from Fairfirst bowlers. The score was way below par considering the big scores in the semi-finals. 

The two openers came into bat to chase down the target of 42 runs but the start was not great. But Lakshan Perera, the captain stayed strong out in the middle and got the team to victory off the last ball of the innings. 

The netball tournament held for the first time saw keen competition between the five teams Union Assurance, Fairfirst, AIA and SLIC emerging as the undisputed Champions and Allianz SE as the runners up. 

“We insure, and cricket insures against wellness, and Employment Benefits (EB) debacles,” said SIB Director Indrajith Fernando, encapsulating the spirit of Lakvinsure Cricket Sixes.

“This year the sponsor comes fresh from launching a partnership with Uniba Partners, the client-centric leading global network that provides insurance broking, risk management and employee benefits solutions,” said Sri Lanka Insurance Institute CEO Udeni Kiridena adding, “And we are all the more glad for SIB’s stake in the championship.”

The sponsorship is also significant in the year that SIB with its partner firm Beyond Wealth (BW) launched an Employee Benefit and a wellness vertical for wealth creation and protection, with an accent on the individual wellness theme, with BW supporting the inaugural netball tournament.

Uniba’s overriding objective is to assist and protect clients in a constantly changing world.

Strategic Insurance Brokers, the insurance and reinsurance broker in Sri Lanka, is the sole local member of the Uniba Partners, represented in over 132 countries around the world. With operations spanning over several decades, SIB has diverse experience operating as a registered composite insurance and reinsurance broker in Sri Lanka. The company now empowered by Uniba Partners manages insurance and reinsurance affairs of insurance companies, individuals, financial institutions, and other corporate entities internationally, and locally.