The meeting of the head of Insurance Research Institute with the head of Takaful Ikhlas Malaysia
According to the financial news report, quoted from the public relations and international affairs of the insurance research institute, Mohammad Mahdi Asgari, the head of the insurance research institute, on the morning of Wednesday 8 Shahrivar 1402 (August 30, 2023) with Mohammad Fekri Ravi, the president and chief executive officer of Takaful Ikhlas Company, and Hazmin bin Zainel, the deputy. Finance of this company met and discussed.
In this meeting, which was hosted by Ikhlas Takaful Company of Malaysia, Asgari announced the goal of the Insurance Research Institute to benefit from the experiences of the Malaysian Takaful industry and to establish the first Takaful company in Iran this year, and added: In the recent trip of the Insurance Research Institute delegation to Malaysia, a meeting was held. It was held with the Sharia Society of Malaysia, and until now specialized meetings have been held with Atika Takaful and Takaful Malaysia, which are considered to be one of the largest companies in this country. In the near future, a joint meeting will be held with the presence of managers of takaful companies in Malaysia and 9 takaful companies in Iran.
Referring to Iran’s 40-year experience in Islamic banking, the head of the Insurance Research Institute stated that despite the activity of 37 insurance companies, takaful is still a fledgling in Iran’s insurance industry, and by using the operational framework of Malaysian Takaful, which has been localized by the Takaful Working Group of the Insurance Research Institute, now 9 The insurance company has received the license to provide the takaful window and have started selling their products.
Referring to the new nature of takaful in Iran, Asgari asked to benefit from the experiences of takaful companies in Malaysia in the field of education, research and publication of scientific professors and noted that: the Insurance Research Institute is holding 10 educational webinars in cooperation with the International Islamic University of Malaysia. With the presence of an Iranian delegation consisting of insurance company managers at Insif University, the second Takaful specialized training course for insurance company managers is being held.
Referring to the meeting and negotiation with the representatives of Bank Negara at the Sharia conference on August 29, 2023, the head of the Insurance Research Institute said: The Insurance Research Institute has also signed memorandums with the Malaysian Takaful Association, IIUM University and Insif University.
After that, Mohammad Fakhri Ravi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Takaful Ikhlas Company, stated that the major goals of Malaysia in 2022 to 2026 are the development of Islamic finance to the world and the supply of Islamic financial products, and the readiness of Malaysian Takaful companies for joint investment and investment in Iran. and knowledge exchange to launch the first takaful company in Iran. After that, he presented the solutions for the establishment of takafli company and emphasized that the best way to achieve this goal is interaction and familiarity with the structure of Bank Malaysia, especially in the field of Islamic finance and insurance.
The head of Takaful Ikhlas Company, explaining the process of formation of Takaful and Islamic banking in Malaysia, said: Iran and Malaysia have the same concerns because of the common religion, and we are also fully prepared to share our information and knowledge, especially in the field of Islamic finance and Sharia compliance, to Iran and Transfer Muslims from other countries. Mohammad Fikri Ravi mentioned that although the principles of Islamic finance appear to be based on the beliefs of Muslims, non-Muslims buy Islamic financial products based on moral principles. Therefore, one of the plans of Takaful Ikhlas company is to enter the market of non-Muslims. He clarified that takaful, which has been implemented for more than 40 years in Malaysia, has a penetration rate of 18%. Considering that 60% of the Malaysian population is Muslim and the retirement age has reached 60 years, the need to supply takaful products in accordance with Sharia has doubled.
Mohammad Fikri Ravi added that in Malaysia, there is common banking alongside Islamic banking, and 60% of the operations in Malaysia are in accordance with Sharia. Iran’s insurance industry can also use the model of changing the situation from conventional banking to Islamic banking and take steps in the direction of moving from conventional insurance to Islamic insurance.
In the final broadcast of this meeting, Asgari emphasized that Islamic banking in Iran has 40 years of experience and all the active banks have an Islamic structure and are in accordance with Sharia, which apply models of Mudarabah, Vakalah, etc., and offer their products without interest, for this reason. Also, in global statistics, Iran Insurance Company is introduced as the largest takaful company in the world. However, takaful based on jurisprudential models has not yet been implemented in Iran. In this regard, in the last year, the Insurance Industry Jurisprudence Council was established by the Insurance Research Institute and the proposed plans of insurance companies to provide the takaful window were examined in this council from a jurisprudential and technical point of view, and as a result, nine insurance companies succeeded in obtaining a license to supply takaful products in became a country
The head of the Insurance Research Institute invited the managers of Takaful Ikhlas Malaysia to attend the insurance and development conference of this year, which will be held on December 12 and 13, 1402 (December 4 and 5, 2023) along with the presentation of papers and the holding of 9 educational workshops. The Insurance Research Institute has valuable knowledge and information in the field of actuarial science and general insurance, and there is a necessary preparation to share it with Takaful Ikhlas Malaysia.