According to a senior industry executive at the World Takaful Conference, cited in Gulf News, the Islamic insurance market in the Middle East is poised to grow 15% every year over the next eight years, as a result of increased demand.
Considering the huge demand from the region, Takaful premiums should grow at more than 15% annually, said Abdullah Kubursi, regional vice-president of AIG.
At present, it is estimated that insurance penetration in the Muslim world is less than 5% while Muslims account for over 25% of the total world population, reported Gulf News, citing Mr Kubursi.
There is clear evidence of growing demand for insurance from the GCC region as the regional economies are booming and the regulatory frameworks are becoming global in nature. There is a huge potential for growth for Islamic products in this part of the world as Muslims are becoming more affluent and aware of the advantages of takaful, added Mr Kubursi.
According to Gulf News, the total global conventional insurance premium is reportedly worth $1.6 trillion, representing 99.3% of the total global insurance premium, while takaful only accounts for 0.7%. In addition, the Middle East accounts for 38% of the total takaful premium, while 33.6% is generated from Southeast Asia.