Takaful Emarat launches new website

Takaful Emarat, the DFM-listed, shari'ah-compliant life and health insurer, has launched a new website with better access to information and real-time access to a fund’s performance and financial reporting tools. 

The refreshed website, along with recently announced distribution agreements with RAK Bank and Emirates Islamic Bank, appeals to the UAE population’s increasing inclination to transact using digital technology, and aims to give customers self-service access outside office hours.

Takaful Emarat has seen an increase in the number of customers visiting their website over the last year and sees this investment in technology, which is funded through the proceeds of its recent rights issue, as the next step in its innovation strategy and growth trajectory.

The website refresh will be delivered in two phases. The first phase focuses on offering customers easy access to product information and a new, modernised feel while the second phase, which is due to come online in the second half of 2016, will allow Takaful Emarat customers to play an active role in managing their own policies online by adding or deactivating policy features as required and filing claims from a desktop or from the smartphone-enabled website. In this second phase of the website revamp, Takaful Emarat will also be able to offer potential customers instant life or health insurance quotes 24x7.

Takaful Emarat’s Chief Executive Officer Wael Al-Sharif said: “The digitisation of life and health insurance has great benefits for our existing customers who can manage their insurance needs at their own convenience and take a more proactive role in planning for their future. Increasing accessibility to information about suitable investments, savings and health and life plans through technology also helps the previously uninsured and lower-income consumers to take control of their finances and wider life plans. For our investors, the updated website provides essential information about the company’s performance and strategy, increasing our transparency to enable a more informed investment decision.”

From a corporate perspective, investors have a more transparent insight in to the company’s financial performance, with a comprehensive library of financial reports and related information. The expansion of accessibility to insurance through technology supports the growth of the global takaful insurance market, which is expected to reach US$20 billion, up from current estimates of US$14 billion, according to research by EY. Demographics in the MENA region support insurance growth particularly in personal lines, which currently make up 16% of the market, compared with 56% globally, according to the Qatar Finance Centre.