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economy Global takaful market to reach $25bn by 2015

The global takaful market could reach $25bn by the end of 2015, according to Ernst & Young.

Ashar Nazim, Mena head of Islamic financial services, Ernst & Young, said at last month’s International Takaful Summit 2011 in London: “If we con-tinue with the 2009 growth rate of 31% or higher, we will clearly touch the US$25bn mark in 2015.”

Abid Shakeel, Islamic financial serv-ices, Ernst & Young, added: “Legisla-tion in the Islamic countries to make takaful products the preferred choice can place the industry on a complete-ly different level. Growth in the GCC is driven by compulsory insurance rath-er than only voluntary policies.”

partnership takaful emarat partners with ncB capital

Takaful Emarat has announced a partnership with NCB Capital, Saudi Arabia’s largest investment bank, to provide Shariah-compliant funds.

The UAE-based life and health in-surer will offer its customers a suite of 21 funds, managed by NCB Capital.

Ghassan Marrouche, general man-ager of Takaful Emarat, said: “Our partnership with NCB Capital signifies our dedication to bringing our custom-ers a competitive selection of Shariah-compliant investment products. The synergy resulting from our new alli-ance with NCB Capital will ensure that our customers can access a range of investment products to meet their di-verse needs.”

AnAlysis

how sociAl mediA cAn enhAnce your businessAt the International Takaful Sum-mit 2011 in London last month, the topic of social media was dis-cussed and how takaful compa-nies could utilise it as a means of developing their business. At the summit, the audience were asked how many had used social media as a business tool in the insurance industry and only a few raised their hands. Considering the im-maturity of the Mena insurance sector this is hardly surprising. But as companies look to acquire new customers and raise awareness in a highly competitive market, does social media have a place in their future strategies?

According to Fahmi Moham-med, a social media professional who spoke on the panel at the summit, it could be used effec-tively by the insurance industry in Mena as a means of customer service and/or brand building. Mohammed sees takaful as par-ticularly cohesive with social me-dia, due to the ideas of trust and openness being key to both. “The current lack of knowledgeable conversations on the social web about takaful indicates the under-standing level of the consumer, which should be addressed by providing content in an easy and understandable format,” he told Mena Insurance Review. “Valuable and insightful contents in the form of excerpts of reports, for exam-ple, could be showcased by com-panies as a means of establishing

their thought leader-ship status in the in-dustry.”

As there are over 30 million people on social media net-works in the Middle East, Mohammed thinks the region has plenty of un-tapped potential. “The key for using social media in this region is to find out where these active users are and to spot the influencers using various social media monitoring tools, iden-tify what interests them and try to relate to them,” he explained. “For example, while observing conversa-tions on Twitter a month prior to the summit, there were several mentions of companies that were actually par-ticipating in the event which shows there is a tuned listener out there that these companies can take ad-vantage of.”

Some companies have created

their own social forums to address specific needs, rather than utilis-ing existing social networks, which helps members communicate with each other and enhances the brand. One US insurance company has em-barked on a pilot project, sending 600 of their financial advisors on to LinkedIn; surely where the US goes, the emerging markets will eventually follow.

All of this sounds great in theory, but how feasible is it that social media will actually become a useful tool for the Mena insurance industry? While challenges such as raising awareness and increasing penetration could be aided by the use of social media, it may be a challenge in itself to galva-nise the insurance sector into adopt-ing this channel.

“The key for using social media in this region is to find out where these active users are and to spot the influencers using various social media monitoring tools, identify what interests them and try to relate to them”

30mpeople use

social media in the middle

east

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