The worldwide Takaful insurance market is being predicted to reach a value of over $12billion in 2011, which signifies a 31 per cent increase from the $9.15 billion figure achieved in 2010, according to a recent report from Ernst and Young.
The report also ranks the UAE in third place in the global Takaful market, which was reportedly worth over $640million in 2009. Complementing this growth, the Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company (AMAN Insurance), one of the UAE’s largest Takaful providers, has been named as ‘Best Takaful Operator’ for the fourth consecutive year during the 6th Annual Middle East Insurance Awards (INSUREX 2011). The award pays tribute to the company’s continued move to provide well-tailored insurance solutions across various industry verticals and also affirms AMAN’s commitment to develop and roll-out more insurance products to complement the continuous growth of the UAE Takaful segment.
The report, entitled ‘World Takaful Report 2011: Transforming Operating Performance,’ shows that Takaful, an Islamic compliant insurance concept, has now become a rapidly growing industry, concentrated mainly in Saudi Arabia (making up $3.86billion of the industry in 2009), Malaysia ($1.15b), UAE ($640m), South East Asia and North Africa. Takaful insurance products are positioned to bring in a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 24 per cent from 2010 to 2012 and will be driven by the increased demand for more motor and energy insurance solutions. Further, property and aviation insurance policies are also expected to emerge as fast growing segments of the general insurance sector. Given this potential for growth, AMAN Insurance announced its plans to roll out more Shariah compliant products in the market, which have been developed to be in accordance with Shariah guidelines under the supervision of the Fatwa and the Shariah Supervisory Board.
“The UAE has strongly emerged as a major player in the global Takaful market, placing third among leading Shariah compliant markets like Saudi Arabia and Malaysia,” said Hussein Al Meeza, CEO and Managing Director, AMAN Insurance. “We are eyeing to play a major part in the UAE Takaful segment’s growth by offering a comprehensive system of outstanding Islamic insurance services that support the stability and security of the local community. This move consolidates our position as market leaders in ‘Bancassurance,’ which reveals the strong partnership between banks and insurance companies.”
The leading company’s continued commitment towards developing and offering strategic insurance products have become one of key reasons for winning the ‘Best Takaful Operator’ at the INSUREX Awards for the fourth consecutive year. The INSUREX Awards aims at recognizing and rewarding excellence in all areas of the insurance industry and has become a definitive event for the region’s insurance industry, laying the foundation for showcasing best practices that have been implemented by key industry players. Parallel to its move towards releasing more products for the Takaful segment, AMAN has also launched two new medical products, ‘Rishtey” and ‘Health on Return,’ which have been developed in partnership with ICICI Lombard of India, the largest private sector general insurance company in India. Also, the leading insurance company has also been appointed as a ‘Trusted Partner’ by the Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA), under its ‘Easy Licensing and Registration’ initiative.
“We are very honoured to receive this distinction from the Middle East Insurance Awards for the fourth straight year, which serves as inspiration for our efforts to develop and offer customized insurance products for the region’s different industry segments. We are now seeing a vibrant Takaful segment in the UAE, prompting us to become a major part of the growth by offering a comprehensive system of outstanding Islamic insurance services that support the stability and security of the local community,” Al Meeza, added.