Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
After my MBA specializing in finance and marketing, I decided to venture into the life insurance industry. I started my career in frontline sales with one of the leading life insurers in India in the bancassurance sales department. My performance during my nearly five-year stint gave me an excellent platform to develop by setting up new sales channels under existing bancassurance partnerships. Then I moved to Medgulf Allianz Takaful (formerly Allianz Takaful) in Bahrain in 2008 to set up the bancassurance and alternate distribution channels for the company.
What does your role involve?
Apart from being a member of the executive management committee that steers the strategy and direction of the company, I am responsible for the bancassurance and brokerage departments for the region. Currently, I manage a team of professionals in various capacities across Bahrain and Qatar.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
Establishing the bancassurance concept for Medgulf Allianz Takaful which paved the way for the extensive number of bancassurance partners in Bahrain is one of my greatest achievements. Today, we work with five banks who distribute our range of products across their branches, wealth management departments, SME banking channels, etc.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
Being a Takaful company with a composite license, we offer both Family (life) Takaful and General (including health) Takaful products. The strategy and direction for the company is on the Family Takaful lines of business, especially the unit-linked plans catering to the savings, retirement and child education planning needs of the customers.
What are the strengths of your business?
The biggest strength of Medgulf Group is the regional network. Medgulf Group is one of the leading Arab and regional insurance companies providing the retail and institutional markets with all risk coverage requirements through its operations in Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the UAE, Turkey and Jordan.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
Firstly, we have competitive products in the Family Takaful lines of business, targeting various needs such as protection for life, protection for critical illnesses, child education, savings and investment, retirement planning, personal accident and disability, etc.
Another factor is our aggressive distribution models, both internal and external. Internal distribution models include direct sales force (corporate) and tied-agency channels; while the external distribution model is to associate with brokers, banks and other intermediaries.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
Apart from the recent political unrest in some countries in the MENA region, our biggest challenge is the lack of awareness around Takaful. However, the awareness level of Takaful concepts has been improving since early 2000s.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in the next five years?
A recent Ernst & Young report mentioned that global Takaful contributions were US$8.3 billion for 2010.
The overall growth rate of Takaful has been decreasing compared to 2003-09 periods where the compound annual growth rate was 41%. However, 2010 saw only 16% growth. So if the Takaful market grows at 15% per year US$25 billion gross contributions will be reached by 2018.
Takaful operators should look at the immense potential of new markets in the MENA region; and expand the operations across these countries to bring in economies of scale.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
Islamic finance and Takaful concepts should be integrated into the current education systems even at school level, in all the countries where Islam is followed.