Double-digit growth for takaful industry last year

KUALA LUMPUR: The takaful (Islamic insurance) industry saw double-digit growth in 2016, according to Malaysian Takaful Association chairman Muhammad Fikri Mohamad Rawi.
“It suffices to say that last year was another year of good growth for takaful with double digits,” he said, declining to reveal further details, prior to the announcement on the industry’s performance scheduled for next month.
The Malaysian life insurance industry charted 16.2% growth in 2016 with a total Annual Premium Equivalent of RM5.71 billion compared with RM4.91 billion in 2015. This was partly due to the sale of products with shorter premium terms. Coverage provided by the life insurance industry for 2016 was valued at RM1.3 trillion, 4.8% more than the RM1.24 trillion registered in the previous year.
Speaking to reporters at the launch of the insurance and takaful industry’s Code of Practice on Personal Data Protection at Lanai Kijang, Life Insurance Association of Malaysia president Toi See Jong said the industry is rooting for single-digit growth this year, despite registering double-digit growth last year.
On the general insurance front, the growth rate was half of that of the previous year, at 1.1% compared with the 2.2% in 2015, and with a gross written premium income of RM17.67 billion.
The insurance and takaful companies came together last Friday to launch the Code of Practice handbook in an effort to safeguard the use of customers’ personal data and to establish the procedures related to the issue.
“ The code sets out the best practice to harmonise the principles to safeguard personal information that is collected and processed and would only be disclosed to approved parties, said Datin Veronica Selvanayagy, chairman of the task force on the Personal Data Protection Act.
“It also addresses the rights of policyholders or data subjects and the penalty that will be imposed on failure to comply with the Act,” she said.