The Takaful industry is expected to see reach $20 billion by 2017 which is a staggering amount for the growing Shariah compliant sector of insurance. Takaful means Islamic insurance and provides an increasingly ethical way to manage products and services effectively adhering to the principles of Islam.
The market in the GCC alone contributes to a reported 62 per cent of gross premiums that is a staggering amount for the industry. Following a recent report from leading company Deloitte entitled ‘The global Takaful insurance market: charting the road to mass markets’ many Islamic finance experts are expecting the Takaful sector to grow.
In a report from Trade Arabia, Dr Hatim El Tahir, director of the Islamic Finance Knowledge Center of Deloitte Middle East, said: “Heightened focus on governance, fiduciary responsibility, risk management and accountability are direct consequences of the global financial crisis and will likely present Takaful with challenging practice and regulatory issues during the next five years.”
“The deliberations and discussions emphasized the imperative need for a continuous ‘knowledge-sharing’ and intellectual dialogues between industry stakeholders, to strengthen best practices in the Takaful landscape,” concluded Dr El-Tahir.
The Takaful sector is further set to prosper in the Middle East and around the world following the encouraging report that outlines the growth opportunities for the sector and the current developments. Many investors and entrepreneurs are already tapping into the Islamic finance industry around the world and the Middle East has provided many opportunities for the sector to further develop. Takaful provides many innovative new services and products for both Muslims and Non Muslims to utilize if they wish to use ethical financing products. The sector of Takaful is expected to further prosper in the years ahead.
