The original company, Ceylon Insurance Company, was founded by Hugh Weerasekera and Chevalier C. S. Antony with board members Justin Kotelawala, Cyril Rodrigo, and Cyril E. S. Perera (UNP member for Colombo North).

They were:- Dr. S. C. Paul; Rosslyn Koch, C. S. Anthony, L. B. de Mel; Dr P. Kulasinghe; and Cyril E. S. Perera.

Due to the Perera's political stance against the SLFP's divisive "Sinhala Only Act" the Ceylon Insurance Co. was eventually politically persuaded to relinquish control by the then SLFP government of Mrs Bandaranayake to Senator Justin Kotelawala then on the board of Ceylon Insurance.

Cyril E. S. Perera also co-founded (with the Berenger family) another significant Sri Lankan company, Ceylon Chocolates Limited, known for its Kandos brand, which was named after Kandy where they first produced chocolate bars, in combination with the Latin word for money "dos".

Kandos also went under the same SLFP reformation, with control eventually being transferred into the hands of Upali Wijewardene for no monetary value.