According to ResearchandMarkets.com, takaful refers to a shari'ah-compliant insurance system through which members mutually contribute a sum of money, so as to support each other in case of a loss, damage or theft. The objective of takaful is to cooperate, live harmoniously amongst the community and protect each other against uncertain mishaps, the company said. Takaful policyholders' regular monetary contributions are supervised and managed by a takaful management firm. The surplus amount is invested which helps to earn policyholders a higher profit.
The report says that takaful is rapidly gaining momentum, particularly in the Asia Pacific and the GCC region, owing to a large Muslim population. Muslims currently account for a fifth of the total global population and these levels are expected to further increase in the future.
Another major driver of the market is that, in contrast to Western countries, the majority of the world's Muslim population is young with 60% of this entire population being under 25 years of age. Catalysed by rising levels of affluence, this large young Muslim population has the potential to represent a customer base for a fairly long duration if it is captured early.
The penetration of conventional insurance is also relatively low in affluent Muslim regions like the GCC. As a result, takaful is perceived as a key instrument to raise insurance awareness and has huge opportunities in these countries.
Some of the leading players operating in the global takaful market include:
- Islamic Insurance Company
- JamaPunji
- AMAN
- Salama
- Standard Chartered
- Takaful Brunei Darussalam Sdn Bhd
- Allianz
- Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad
- Zurich Malaysia
- Takaful Malaysia
- Qatar Islamic Insurance Company
Buy the report (April 2018)