'Many informed about takaful now'

Indunil HEWAGE

People's awareness about the Takaful industry in the country has increased during the last couple of years. The industry needs to have a strong and highly capitalized market to meet the growing demand of customers, an expert said.

Addressing the second Sri Lanka Islamic Banking and Finance Conference, First International Consultants (Malaysia) Specialist Fadzil Yusof said the industry should be able to benchmark good governance, best practices and support from regulators will assist in meeting the set goals in insurance companies.

"The agency problem, lack of professionals, high acquisition and management cost are major impediments faced by the industry," he said.

"Medical insurance should be provided for expatriates by the Takaful industry, as it is a big burden for Governments to provide medical insurance to their citizens," he said. He said disposable income of individuals is increasing and the Takaful industry has vast opportunities to introduce products and services to the aging population in countries.

Malpractices and inconsistencies in insurance companies, drop in service quality and introducing cheap insurance coverages should be avoided by insurance companies.

The Takaful industry should diversify products without confining to genetic products while meeting all level of community needs and educating the public about Takaful products, Yusof said.