Al Madina Takaful, Oman’s first Islamic insurance provider has been leading the way and setting new benchmarks in the Islamic insurance industry in Oman. Established in 2006, Al Madina Insurance Co is one of Oman’s largest insurance companies offering a wide range of products and services for the retail and business segments. The company is promoted by leading financial institutions and prominent business houses from Oman and across the GCC region. The portfolio of offerings includes insurance for home, motor, domestic help, marine cargo and hull, life and medical, engineering, general accident, liability, and fire and property.
In 2014, Al Madina transformed its entire business to Takaful becoming the first operational and profitable Takaful company in Oman. With a mission to provide a full range of Takaful products which are Shariah compliant, competitively priced and customized to the market requirements, and supported by superior customer service, Al Madina Takaful has grown to become the ‘Oman Insurer of the Year’ 2016.
The company has strong and committed shareholders from Oman and the GCC, established partnerships with leading international insurance groups and is guided by a strong and stable senior management team led by experienced insurance practitioners with international experience.
Al Madina Takaful has been setting new benchmarks with its innovative products and services. It was the first company in Oman to provide a web calculator for retail policies like motor, travel and domestic. It was the first to launch a mobile app in Oman for insurance. The app, mInsurance, is a benchmark in the industry and allows customers to receive quotes; buy policies; track a claim; perform renewals; locate the nearest Al Madina office, car repair garages and hospital clinics; get renewal reminders and information on Takaful; and more.
True to its leadership role, Al Madina introduced a knowledge-sharing forum called ‘Knowledge Forum’ as a platform to continually engage with decision-makers to facilitate Takaful education, the exchange of information, knowledge and practices and inspire innovation and leadership through collaboration.
The awards won by Al Madina Takaful bear testimony to the company’s successful track record: the ‘AIWA Award’, ‘Top 10 Best Performing Companies in MSM Small Cap Segment’, ‘General Takaful Company of the Year’ at the 2nd Middle East Insurance Industry Awards 2015 and ‘Oman Insurer of the Year’ at the MENAIR Insurance Awards 2016.
The performance recorded by Al Madina Takaful has been remarkably successful and has helped set a firm foundation for the company to continue to reward both shareholders and policyholders alike moving into the future.
About Takaful
Takaful is defined as a cooperative system of the Islamic insurance concept, which is grounded in Islamic Muamalat (Islamic banking), observing the rules and regulations of Islamic law. Conventional forms of insurance are prohibited under Islamic law as they contain elements of Maysir, Gharar and Riba.
Takaful is based on the principles of Taawun (mutual assistance) that is Tabarru (voluntarily) provided. Takaful is similar to conventional cooperative insurance whereby participants pool their funds together to insure one another.
Five key elements:
Mutual guarantee – The basic objective of Takaful is to pay a defined loss from a defined fund. The loss is borne by a fund created by donations of policyholders. The liability is spread among the policyholders and all losses divided between them. In effect, the policyholders are both the insurer and insured.
Ownership of fund – Donating their contributions to the Takaful fund, policyholders are owners of the fund and entitled to its profits.
Elimination of uncertainty – Donations, resulting in a transfer of ownership to the fund, are voluntary to mutually help in case of a policyholder’s loss without any pre-determined monetary benefits.
Management of the Takaful fund – Management is by the operator who, depending on the adopted model, utilizes either (or a combination) of two Shariah compliant contracts, namely Mudarabah or Wakalah.
Investment condition – All investments must be Shariah compliant, which prohibits investment in Haram industries, and require the use of instruments that are free of Riba.