World Takaful Conference inaugurated in Dubai

The event focusing on Islamic compliant insurance was attended by more than 150 delegates from 16 countries.

Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, Director General of the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, commented: "The Takaful industry is a nascent one as compared to its more mature banking counterpart. It is witnessing very significant growth as the Islamic alternative to the conventional insurance has grown from being a regional business to a global one. The global Takaful market is expected to grow at between 15-20 % per annum and the DIFC aims to play a key role in the development of this sector in the coming years."

According to Islamic Finance News, total Takaful premiums in the GCC are expected to reach about $2 billion by 2015 and a total of $5.7 elsewhere in the world. Although Takaful has been in the market for more than 20 years, an enormous potential market still remains untapped because the conventional insurance market is deeply entrenched in several of the Islamic countries. However, it is interesting to note that the percentage of the Islamic population that is insured is relatively low.

Opening the proceedings on the first day, HE Dr. Bassel Hindawi, Director General of the Insurance Commission, Jordan, delivered a keynote presentation titled Assessing the Legal & Regulatory challenges in the Takaful Industry.

Khalid Yousaf, DIFC director of Islamic Finance, led the discussion of the Future Prospects of Takaful: Converting Challenges into Opportunities session. The panellists were Peter Casey, Director - Supervision, DFSA; Susan Dingwall, Partner, Norton Rose; Fursan Farouqa, Resident Adviser & Board Member, Arab American Takaful Insurance Company and Paul Warren, Actuary, WARREN FAM.

New Business Models & Innovative Takaful Products were addressed at the next session that focussed on visioning the future of the global Takaful industry, assessing the success of global business models employed by leading Takaful operators, developing Shari'ah compliant insurance products & services, and the scope and opportunities for new Takaful product development.

The session heard from a number of high profile speakers, including Ahmed M. Sabbagh, General Manager, Islamic Insurance Company, Jordan; Dr Saleh Malaikah , Vice Chairman and CEO, Salama Islamic Arab Insurance Company; Oussama A. Kaissi, General Manager , Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company ; Chakib Abouzaid, CEO, Takaful Re Ltd; Dawood Y. Taylor, Assistant General Manager & Head of Takaful Ta'awuni, Bank Al Jazira and Sohail Jaffer, Partner, FWU Group.

During the Shari'ah and Business Open Forum that followed, Sheikh Nizam Yaquby, Shari'ah Scholar; Dr. Daud Bakar, President & CEO, International Institute of Islamic Finance (IIIF) and Dr. Ahmad Al-Sa'd, Shari'ah Scholar discussed Shari'ah issues related to Takaful, Shari'ah compliance and the contemporary insurance world and if Shari'ah scholars and regulators have common goals.

Assessing Growth Opportunities in Key Takaful Market Segments was the last session of the first day's proceedings when Parvaiz Siddiq, General Manager, Salama Islamic Arab Insurance Company, Ajmal Bhatty, Global Head of Takaful HSBC Amanah, David T. Youssef, Managing Director, GoodHealth Worldwide (Middle East) and Gautam Datta, Deputy General Manager, General Takaful, Solidarity discussed the role of each stakeholder that is Takaful providers, participants, regulators, shareholders & re-takaful providers.

The World Takaful Conference Gala Dinner will be hosted by Middle East Global Advisors (MEGA), the event organisers. Speakers will share their experiences and personal insights into some of the key new markets in Takaful during the Gala Dinner that takes as its theme: World Takaful: New Markets. New Opportunities.

The conference was in Strategic Partnership with Dubai International Financial Centre. Leading international organisations sponsored the conference. These included Platinum sponsor Salama Islamic Arab Insurance Company; Platinum & BancTakaful Sponsor HSBC Amanah; Re-Takaful Sponsor Takaful Re; Gold Sponsor Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company; Takaful Sponsor Solidarity; PowerTable Host Ernst & Young; Silver Sponsors Shiekan Insurance & Re-Insurance Company; Amana Takaful Insurance; Arab American Takaful Insurance Company/Al Barakah Takaful and Support Sponsor Norton Rose.

The conference attracted media support from across the globe. The media supporters include Forbes, Insure, Asia Insurance Review, CNBC Arabiya, IFIS, MENAFN, The Insurance Insider, Middle East Monitor, The Middle East in Europe, Eurekahedge, Saneoualhadath, Emerging Markets Report, FTSE Global Markets, Global Risk Regulator, Al Bayan Magazine, Islamic Finance News and UAE Banking Review.