Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
I started my career in the GCC region with ALICO in Saudi Arabia as an accident and health manager for the kingdom. Five years later, I was promoted to run the life insurance business for ALICO Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I then moved to Arab Insurance Group (Bahrain) (ARIG) where I occupied many roles including that of regional manager — business development and training for all the territories where ARIG operates, in addition to being responsible for the life, medical and accident and health lines. In 2001 I moved to Oman and was appointed as the general manager of Oman United Medical & Life Insurance Company.
I moved to the UAE in February 2011 as the general manager of Takaful Emarat.
What does your role involve?
As general manager, I ensure that the company’s strategies are being implemented and are on schedule; enhance the company’s profitability and reliability and ensure that the company is in full compliance with the laws of the land, its regulators and responsible bodies.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
During my career as a general manager, I have been successful in improving the operations of the companies I have worked for and increasing overall profitability. With regards to Takaful Emarat my most significant achievements have been building a solid infrastructure for the company and implementing new systems; launching life and medical individual plans; enhancing our Group Life and medical offering and establishing the right image for the company in the industry, all in a period of less than 10 months. I would also like to recognize the efforts of my team of managers and all our employees in helping me reach these goals.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
As Takaful Emarat was set up as the UAE’s first dedicated life and health Takaful provider, we deal with the two most important aspects of human life — financial protection and health. Both lines of our business are equally important and necessary to ensure a peaceful and carefree life.
What are the strengths of your business?
Our company is founded on the concept of Takaful, which is the core strength of our business. The recent economic downturn has proved that commercial viability is not the only critical factor for business success.
In addition our strategic partners are extremely valuable to us and are also one of our major strengths. Our local UAE- based partner, Al-Buhaira National Insurance Company, provides us with local insights into the market dynamics based on their 30 years of expertise in the UAE. Our European partner, UNIQA Group Austria, brings us their international expertise, state-of-the-art information technology and quality assurance systems.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
As the UAE’s first dedicated life and health Takaful provider, Takaful Emarat offers a comprehensive range of life and health Takaful insurance products to individuals and corporations. Our product offering is strongly supported by ‘A’ rated reinsurance arrangements. Our experienced and renowned Shariah board also contributes to the success of our company and is a source of credibility in the community in which we operate.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
One of our major challenges is raising awareness about Takaful in the market. Currently, awareness of Takaful as an Islamic model of insurance is very low. In addition, overall insurance penetration in the UAE is also very low — an indication that insurance is not a priority for individuals unless it is made mandatory through government regulations. There is also a shortage of Shariah scholars and Takaful experts.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in the next five years?
Islamic finance is establishing itself as an important component in the growth of the UAE economy and we see the Islamic finance industry leading the re-emergence of economic stability in the region. Islamic banks and insurance companies have experienced rapid growth in recent years and we see this trend continuing as there is significant potential for product development and service enhancement in the industry.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
Regulations and regulators have to play a vital role in strengthening the Islamic finance industry. We would like to see workable and flexible procedures and transparent compliance guidelines become the industry norm.