Insurance accessible only to 25% of population:

Amana Takaful establishes its first Micro Takaful branch

Amana Takaful, the flag bearer of the Takaful way of insurance in Sri Lanka, opened its first Micro Takaful branch in Atulugama, Kalutara, taking protection needs to the people who need it most.

“Insurance is accessible only for 25% of the population; the rest are almost neglected, leaving them vulnerable to the financial burden of accidents and loss of life.

Thus, we found it right to engage this need by developing a suitable insurance scheme for this special segment of the population,” said Shamail Anam, Manager, Business Development, Amana Takaful PLC, at the opening ceremony of the branch. Atulugama is a village in the Western province of Sri Lanka, which has a population of about 10,000 adults and 4,750 families living in the area. Most of the families living in the village, depend on a daily wage and small scale business. Micro Takaful is an insurance scheme specially designed for low income communities. In a Micro Takaful scheme, usual insurance product offerings are modified to the needs of the low income earning community and are made affordable to ensure they reach the deserving.

Amana Takaful is one of the first takaful insurance companies to offer a micro insurance product in Sri Lanka. Their Micro Takaful product “Navodaya,” has served many communities around Sri Lanka already.

“We have reached many low income earning communities in Sri Lanka and through the years, have gained a better understanding of their requirements to serve them better,” said Imran Naleer, in charge of the Micro Takaful programme of Amana Takaful. Followed by the opening of the branch, Amana Takaful held a “Risk Management Awareness Seminar” for the participants explaining the types of risks faced by them, the impact caused by such risks and the provision of possible ways of managing or mitigating risks. Imran Naleer further explained that “with the expertise and experience gained in the field, Amana Takaful is in a journey to spread Micro Takaful through education and products.”

As pioneers of the Takaful concept, Amana Takaful has been successful in carving out a strong market for itself, in both Life and General Insurance, since its inception and is also among the top 80 brands in Sri Lanka as published by LMD. The company serves insurance needs across the country, covering the East, South, Western, North Western, North Eastern and Central Hills. The company is a Board Member of the Global Takaful Group, which is an international Think-tank for the development of Takaful globally. They also hold membership of International Co-operative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) of which they hold the chairmanship of the Micro-Takaful Steering Group. Takaful in a nutshell, is a concept of mutuality and joint guarantee of community.

It resolves around the practice of contribution towards the wellbeing of the community. Participants contribute money into a pooling system out of which the affected, due to loss or damage, is benefited by the help of all and the profits of mutually beneficial partnership is shared by all who have participated in the fund. In Takaful, customers participate and their risks are pooled as opposed to the usual transfer of the risk to the company. Hence, they become the joint owner of the fund.