Formula World- Walking into the expansive site located in Seeduwa is sufficient to create a sense of awe in a person and that was what I felt when I walked into Formula World – a state of the art collision repair centre which provides services free of charge to all the Formula Plus Motor Insurance policy holders of Sri Lanka Insurance.

Suren Galagoda, CEO General Insurance (Designate) who spearheads the functionalities of Formula World gave us a comprehensive introduction about Formula World. He emphasized the importance of adhering to the manufacture’s instructions during a repair and mentioned that Formula World uses high-tech equipment to detect, adjust, repair and replace motor vehicle body panels and related components.

Through a presentation he provided ample information on the above process using the modern laser measurement system to repair vehicles with the ‘uni-body- frame system to ensure complete accuracy and precision when aligning damaged areas known as crush zones.

Ramesh Kariyawasam, Chief Engineer of Formula World mentioned that Sri Lanka insurance’s ‘Formula Plus,’ customers are provided with the best auto-repair, adding that approximately 200 vehicles are repaired monthly at Formula World, holders of a platinum insurance policy are provided with a substitute car until their own vehicle is repaired. The range of equipment available at the premise is a first for Sri Lanka. Janaka Abeysinghe, GM Formula World, guided us on a hands –on tour of Formula World, from the moment a damaged car enters the centre it is treated with utmost care. Once all body repairs/ replacements are complete, computerized paint matching and mixing equipment ensures a precise paintwork with a thorough finish. In addition to it the quality assurance experts will inspect the vehicle under specially designed lights to ensure that it is defect free prior to delivering it to the owner. Each repair is certified by the Formula World Centre with a limited warrantee.

Suren Galagoda further stressed on the unique aspect of Sri Lanka Insurance’s ‘Formula Plus’ policy which prioritizes the safety of the car owner and the passengers. " Our competitors provide cash on the spot during an accident but it is disadvantageous to the owner as he/she has to get the vehicle towed to a garage of his/her choice and in most cases the garages are not equipped with the modern technical equipment, expertise and knowledge to undertake the repairs in keeping with the manufacture’s specifications."

To a query on the importance of repairing a vehicle according to the manufacture’s specifications, Suren Galagoda, said that it ensures the safety of all passengers, by balancing the strength of the vehicle using the pressure points as the pressure is absorbed and released at the correct points of the vehicle during a collision. This minimizes the damage to passengers in case of a second collision.

Formula World provides an additional service through a dedicated fleet of special recovery trucks which are on-call 24 hours a day, thus freeing the policy holder from the burden of finding a qualified vehicle-towing service. Thereafter the customers can rest assured that the vehicle will be repaired to the manufacture’s specifications by a team of qualified technicians who are trained by overseas qualified specialists.