KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- Allianz Malaysia Bhd (AMB) has received approval from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to commence negotiation with MNRB Holdings Bhd (MNRB) on the proposed acquisition of equity interest in Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia Monday, AMB said the approval was received via BNM's letter dated Dec 17.
Takaful Ikhlas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MNRB.
-- BERNAMA December 20, 2010 21:24 PM
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Panduan penting apabila membeli polisi insurans
1. Benar-benar memahami polisi insurans anda termasuklah ciri-ciri produk, syarat-syarat, had manfaat dan pengecualiannya.
2. Memastikan premium insurans yang akan dibayar adalah berpatutan. |
3. Memastikan amaun perlindungan adalah mencukupi dan sesuai dengan keperluan anda.
4. Memastikan semua fakta penting didedahkan sepenuhnya.
5. Berurusan hanya dengan ejen berdaftar/broker berlesen atau secara terus dengan syarikat insurans
6. Memantau tempoh perlindungan dan masa untuk membayar premium atau caruman
Monday, December 20, 2010
Allianz Malaysia Sees Takaful Openings Through Government Policies
May 25, 2010
Although Islamic Shariah law has strict limitations on the use of premiums from takaful sales, Allianz Malaysia said it is open to tapping the market, with its estimated annual growth of up to 20% under positive government support.
"We are interested in takaful business as it is an attractive and promising segment with a lot of potential for growth," Alexander Ankel, chief executive of Allianz Malaysia, told BestWeek Asia/Pacific.
The emergence of the takaful sector is "broadening" the competitive horizon of the insurance industry, and customers now have access to a variety of options, said Ankel. "We believe takaful will help the insurance industry to grow further as Malaysia is set to emerge as a leader in Islamic finance."
With the enactment of the Takaful Act 1984, the first takaful company in Malaysia was established in 1985. Since then, Malaysia's takaful industry has been "gaining momentum" and increasingly recognized as a "significant" contributor to Malaysia's overall Islamic financial system, said the Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank of Malaysia, in a statement.
Globally, the takaful industry has been growing rapidly, and appeals to both Muslims and non-Muslims. "The industry is expected to grow by 15% to 20% annually, with contributions expected to reach US$7.4 billion by 2015," according to the Institute of Islamic Finance and Insurance and Investor Offshore Review in February 2006, said the central bank.
ConsultancyErnst & Young recently said the global takaful market grew 29% to US$5.3 billion in contributions in 2008, and it is expected to surpass US$8.8 billion in 2010 (BestWire, May 4, 2010).
There are more than 110 takaful operations worldwide. In Malaysia, there are eight licensed takaful operations and an international takaful operator. They are CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad, Etiga Takaful Berhad, Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful Berhad, HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, MAA Takaful Berhad, Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad, Takaful Ikhlas Sdn. Bhd and AIA Takaful International Bhd, according to the central bank.
The country has three licensed retakaful operators, including MNRB Retakaful Berhad, ACR Retakaful SEA Berhad and Munich Re Retakaful.
As at Dec, 31, 2009, Malaysia's total takaful fund assets amounted to 12.45 billion ringgit (US$3.9 billion), up 17.8% from 10.57 billion ringgit in 2008. Net contributions income from the takaful sector was 3.52 billion ringgit, up 16.1% from 3.03 billion ringgit the previous year, according to the central bank.
Malaysia has been at the "forefront" of the takaful business, said Allianz in a report. "Takaful insurers in Malaysia, a country of only 27 million, held assets worth some US$2 billion in 2008. Their counterparts in Indonesia, with nearly 10 times the population, only managed assets worth US$95 million."
Insurance in its conventional, Western form, is forbidden by Shariah law as Islamic scholars said it resembles gambling and includes interest rates, which are shunned by the Koran. Allianz said while conventional insurers charge money to cover the risks of the insured, takaful policies spread the risk and eventual rewards among all participants, creating a system of mutual insurance, which is "basically a different way of risk transfer."
"We are interested in takaful business as it is an attractive and promising segment with a lot of potential for growth," Alexander Ankel, chief executive of Allianz Malaysia, told BestWeek Asia/Pacific.
The emergence of the takaful sector is "broadening" the competitive horizon of the insurance industry, and customers now have access to a variety of options, said Ankel. "We believe takaful will help the insurance industry to grow further as Malaysia is set to emerge as a leader in Islamic finance."
With the enactment of the Takaful Act 1984, the first takaful company in Malaysia was established in 1985. Since then, Malaysia's takaful industry has been "gaining momentum" and increasingly recognized as a "significant" contributor to Malaysia's overall Islamic financial system, said the Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank of Malaysia, in a statement.
Takaful Opening
Globally, the takaful industry has been growing rapidly, and appeals to both Muslims and non-Muslims. "The industry is expected to grow by 15% to 20% annually, with contributions expected to reach US$7.4 billion by 2015," according to the Institute of Islamic Finance and Insurance and Investor Offshore Review in February 2006, said the central bank.
Consultancy
There are more than 110 takaful operations worldwide. In Malaysia, there are eight licensed takaful operations and an international takaful operator. They are CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad, Etiga Takaful Berhad, Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful Berhad, HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, MAA Takaful Berhad, Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad, Takaful Ikhlas Sdn. Bhd and AIA Takaful International Bhd, according to the central bank.
The country has three licensed retakaful operators, including MNRB Retakaful Berhad, ACR Retakaful SEA Berhad and Munich Re Retakaful.
As at Dec, 31, 2009, Malaysia's total takaful fund assets amounted to 12.45 billion ringgit (US$3.9 billion), up 17.8% from 10.57 billion ringgit in 2008. Net contributions income from the takaful sector was 3.52 billion ringgit, up 16.1% from 3.03 billion ringgit the previous year, according to the central bank.
Malaysia has been at the "forefront" of the takaful business, said Allianz in a report. "Takaful insurers in Malaysia, a country of only 27 million, held assets worth some US$2 billion in 2008. Their counterparts in Indonesia, with nearly 10 times the population, only managed assets worth US$95 million."
Insurance in its conventional, Western form, is forbidden by Shariah law as Islamic scholars said it resembles gambling and includes interest rates, which are shunned by the Koran. Allianz said while conventional insurers charge money to cover the risks of the insured, takaful policies spread the risk and eventual rewards among all participants, creating a system of mutual insurance, which is "basically a different way of risk transfer."
"With the takaful approach, the insurer is becoming more like a facilitator and administrator for this risk sharing," said Allianz. The German insurance group opened its takaful subsidiary in Bahrain in 2009 to capture this fast growing market by targeting high net worth individuals and providing tailor-made products for women and youths.
The global financial crisis in 2008 opened opportunities for the company, while its investors in the Middle East region are considering takaful as "an alternative to conventional products that have suffered from the downturn," said Abdulrahman Tolefat, CEO of Allianz Takaful BSC, in a statement.
While further studying the feasibility of operating takaful businesses in Malaysia, Ankel said that in 2010 the group will continue focusing on profitable growth, further enhancing its distribution channels, streamlining life and general insurance business on a common sales and service platform to improve both product and service standards.
In April, Allianz Malaysia proposed to sell irredeemable convertible preference shares to entitled shareholders under a plan to raise 611 million ringgit in capital. Of that, Ankel said 490 million ringgit will be used to repay credit facilities granted by the majority shareholder Allianz SE for the acquisition of Commerce Assurance Berhad, which is now known as Bright Mission, in a transaction that was completed in August 2007.
The raised funds will also be used to increase the capital base in Allianz Malaysia's subsidiaries, Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad and Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad. "This will be used to meet their respective capital requirements under the risk-based capital framework imposed by the BNM," Ankel said.
Allianz Malaysia recorded total gross written premiums of 2.07 billion ringgit in 2009, up 17% from 1.77 billion ringgit in 2008. Among the total, ALIM accounted for 868.7 million ringgit and AGIC accounted for 1.2 billion ringgit.
The combined ratio of AGIC in 2009 stood at 87 as compared to 88 in the previous year. The general insurance unit recorded underwriting profit of 102.4 million ringgit, up 29% from 2008. Its market share in Malaysia was 10.35% as at Sept. 30, 2009.
ALIM reported 31% growth in new business premiums in 2009, pushing up its market share to 7.3%. Its total assets were 2.53 billion ringgit.
Ankel said one of the key successful factors of ALIM in 2009 was its multi-distribution strategy emphasizing "agency force expansion and its productivity enhancement" under the company’s effective training and agency model.
For the nonlife segment, he said the assured result was mainly attributed to its "well diversified distribution channels comprising about 5,500 agents, corporate brokers and its bancassurance partnership with CIMB Bank."
The bancassurance partnership which began in 2008 has contributed "positively" to the group by "improving our market share and profit generated by the general insurance business side in 2009," said Ankel.
The global financial crisis in 2008 opened opportunities for the company, while its investors in the Middle East region are considering takaful as "an alternative to conventional products that have suffered from the downturn," said Abdulrahman Tolefat, CEO of Allianz Takaful BSC, in a statement.
Malaysian Markets
While further studying the feasibility of operating takaful businesses in Malaysia, Ankel said that in 2010 the group will continue focusing on profitable growth, further enhancing its distribution channels, streamlining life and general insurance business on a common sales and service platform to improve both product and service standards.
In April, Allianz Malaysia proposed to sell irredeemable convertible preference shares to entitled shareholders under a plan to raise 611 million ringgit in capital. Of that, Ankel said 490 million ringgit will be used to repay credit facilities granted by the majority shareholder Allianz SE for the acquisition of Commerce Assurance Berhad, which is now known as Bright Mission, in a transaction that was completed in August 2007.
The raised funds will also be used to increase the capital base in Allianz Malaysia's subsidiaries, Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad and Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad. "This will be used to meet their respective capital requirements under the risk-based capital framework imposed by the BNM," Ankel said.
Allianz Malaysia recorded total gross written premiums of 2.07 billion ringgit in 2009, up 17% from 1.77 billion ringgit in 2008. Among the total, ALIM accounted for 868.7 million ringgit and AGIC accounted for 1.2 billion ringgit.
The combined ratio of AGIC in 2009 stood at 87 as compared to 88 in the previous year. The general insurance unit recorded underwriting profit of 102.4 million ringgit, up 29% from 2008. Its market share in Malaysia was 10.35% as at Sept. 30, 2009.
ALIM reported 31% growth in new business premiums in 2009, pushing up its market share to 7.3%. Its total assets were 2.53 billion ringgit.
Ankel said one of the key successful factors of ALIM in 2009 was its multi-distribution strategy emphasizing "agency force expansion and its productivity enhancement" under the company’s effective training and agency model.
For the nonlife segment, he said the assured result was mainly attributed to its "well diversified distribution channels comprising about 5,500 agents, corporate brokers and its bancassurance partnership with CIMB Bank."
The bancassurance partnership which began in 2008 has contributed "positively" to the group by "improving our market share and profit generated by the general insurance business side in 2009," said Ankel.
Allianz Takaful begins operations with trusted financial solutions in Bahrain
Manama, 15th March 2009: The launch of Allianz Takaful on Sunday marked the entry of Allianz Group in the GCC. Based in Bahrain Allianz Takaful will offer Shariah-compliant products and services with hallmark Allianz values.

The launch event, held at Ritz Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa was attended by H.E. Rasheed M. Al-Maraj, The Governor, Central Bank of Bahrain, H.E.Dr. Hubert Lang, The German Ambassador in Bahrain, Mr. Heinz Dollberg, Chairman, Allianz Takaful, Dr. Abdul Rahman Khalil Tolefat, Chief Executive Officer, Allianz Takaful and other dignitaries from the financial sector.
The launch of Allianz Takaful amidst the current economic situation has much significance. "At a time when other financial institutions are shutting down their operations, Allianz is proud to expand into the Middle East. MENA is one of the identified growth markets for Allianz and we have come here to aggressively serve this market by taking into consideration the culture and leveraging on our global experience," said Dr. Abdul Rahman Khalil Tolefat, Chief Executive Officer, Allianz Takaful.
Bahrain remains a global hub for Islamic finance and the most stable financial centre in the MENA region. Due to the sophistication of the regulatory framework that take into consideration the unique characteristics of Takaful industry and facility provided by government to facilitate foreign investment, Allianz has chosen Bahrain as its global hub for Takaful. Thanks to the friendly economic policies and continuing reforms process, Bahrain commands a special place in the GCC bloc as the financial capital of the region. Over the last decade Bahrain's economy has been witnessing phenomenal growth and it has the strength to prevail over the current economic situation. These are some of the facts that encouraged us to choose the Kingdom as Allianz's global centre for Takaful Insurance.

"We will combine Allianz's global trust and expertise, and our local insights to create financial solutions of world-class standards. At the same time full-compliance with Shariah rules will ensure that our customers' religious beliefs and cultural values are never compromised. Allianz Takaful services are 100% compliant with Shariah rules and regulations, and monitored by a board of well-known Shariah scholars," continued Dr. Abdul Rahman.
"We are committed to develop a comprehensive solution for our clients from A to Z branded by our name Allianz. A variety of products starting from motor insurance to sophisticated products such as retirement and saving schemes have been developed. For major products, we will introduce new services that are unpracticed in this market before. Also, we will introduce a new concept called "Allianz Takaful Mall" for our client whereby they will find all the financial solutions under one shop."
The customer is our main focus. Globally Allianz is reputed for innovation in financial products and our impressive product portfolio consists of a complete range of Takaful products for life and health protection, savings, retirement, child education and investments, which can be customized to meet the specific requirements of our clients.
"Several initiatives have been taken to measure and enhance customer stratification. Two projects; one called I2S or "Idea to Success" and another called CFI or "Customer Focus Initiative" were introduced. Also, we map our process internally and link performance of our employees with the committed date to our customers. We have targeted this year to not deviate 90% from our time committed to our customers."
"Technology will be deployed in order to enhance our customer services such as call center and interactive website. Also, we will deploy new technology which will be announced soon."
"We plan to promote Takaful concept in practice by managing Takaful funds in an efficient way which can enable us to distribute surplus to the client in few years from now."
"Customer awareness and education is part of our plan to enhance customer satisfaction and help them to plan for their future."
Commenting on the Allianz Takaful's future plans, Dr. Abdul Rahman said, "We are planning to expand our horizons to other markets in the region such as UAE, Kuwait and Qatar by introducing innovative Takaful products and services which the region has never experienced before. Gradually we plan to expand in other markets that have potential for Takaful Products"
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