Amana Takafull makes losses, says lack of investment options is hindering growth

Sri Lanka’s Amana Takafull PLC has recorded a Rs. 109.3 million loss during the financial year 2011, owing to the impact caused by increased claims and volatility in investments.

“Increased claims, volatility in investments, especially equities and gold in the latter half of the year, took its toll on profitability, resulting in negative bottom-line”, Chairman of the Amana Takafull PLC Tyeab Akbarally stated in the company’s annual report.

However, the revenues from the company’s local business operations have grown from Rs. 917 million in 2010 to Rs. 1,269 million in 2011, recording a growth of 38.4%.

The firm’s local general business has grown up to Rs. 965.3 million during the reference year, from Rs. 676.9 million recorded in 2010, which is a growth of 42.6%.

“Similarly Life business grew by 26.5 percent which amounts to Rs. 64.0 million, by recording a gross written premium of Rs. 304.0 million compared Rs. 240.0 million in 2010”, added the Chairman in his review.

Amana Takafull says its subsidiaries, Amana Global, Amana Takaful Maldives and IGL have contributed positively to the Group.

According to Akbarally, lack of investment options for the firm still persists.

“Equity and bullion being volatile investments where fortunes can swing ways, the Islamic finance system and especially Takaful requires more avenues of investments in the form of Islamic Bonds and relaxation of rules to invest in Islamic finance windows in banks, where there is low volatility” says Akbarally.

http://www.news360.lk/business-finance/14052012-amana-takafull-makes-losses-says-lack-of-investment-options-is-hindering-growth-9912

Takaful is growing in Sri Lanka

Amana Takaful Insurance recently marked its 10th year of operations in Sri Lanka whilst also marking a significant milestone for Takaful in Sri Lanka by reaching Rs 1 Billion in GWP for the last financial year. Within this short period of time Amana Takaful has been successful in carving a market for themselves in Sri Lanka and also rose in its Brand Rating by 7 notches to 70th position last year, in the rankings researched by Brand Finance. Today Amana Takaful is among the top 10 insurance companies in Sri Lanka and is present in the South, East, West, North Central and Central hills. The Daily Mirror spoke to Mr. Aashiq Aminuddin, Marketing Manager of Amana Takaful Insurance to find out more about the company's objectives and future plans.

"Having started off small with just around 20 employees we now have a staff strength of over 500 working in 18 locations and also in Maldives. Our main strength I would say is our strong Takaful concept for which we have been able to successfully carve out a market in Sri Lanka. Amana Takaful has been able to change the landscape of insurance in Sri Lanka, by offering policyholders the opportunity of sharing underwriting profits", says Mr. Aminuddin.

"At the beginning there were many hurdles to overcome because the concept was new to Sri Lanka. However, through persistent endeavors the staff was able to build a market for Takaful. As mentioned earlier the provision of Surplus Refunds (underwriting profit) helped the attainment of the billion mark as well and Takaful is growing steadily", he added.

The Takaful Insurance system is about fairness. It is a bond and a commitment to serve one another sincerely and truly, by providing financial security through solidarity. The Takaful concept is about helping all parties benefit progressively for the good of the country and its people. Here policy holders are not mere buyers, but are participants of a group fund built with the intention of helping one another through contributions. This good feeling of mutual assistance is the key to Takaful, which also provides the participants the benefit of claiming at times of need.

"When selecting an insurance company, the customer needs to pay more attention to the best service provider and not the best rate provider. What customers yearn for is a friend at times of need; therefore we need to build our offering around this basic customer requirement. Although there is an abundance of information and communication in the market, penetration levels of life insurance is only about 10% in Sri Lanka, therefore we need to create more realization with regards to the importance insurance and the benefits of obtaining a life insurance cover.

"In terms of Life insurance, Sri Lankan's should opt for insurance at a younger age. This habit will definitely benefit them in the long-term as the investment in insurance would be higher later in life. In addition, this needs to be understood is that individuals will be providing for better medical attention and help not to be a burden on the country", further stated Mr. Aminuddin.

"Promoting Takaful in Sri Lanka has been an equally rewarding task for Amana Takaful Insurance which continuously improved its Brand Rating according to the published data by LMD and researched by Brand Finance. The latest report showed Amana Takaful in the 70th position which is 7 positions higher than the previous year. This bears testament of our customer satisfaction, service and awareness that was scrutinized by Brand Finance", Aminuddin explained.

"Through results Amana Takaful Insurance was able to allay the misconception and belief that Takaful is meant for a select few in Sri Lanka.

Our clientele is proof that Takaful is being embraced fully and many Sri Lankans are opting in. We are confident of growth in the future", he stressed.

The company recently stepped up its operations aggressively in its branches located in the East in areas such as Trincomalee, Kathankudy and Kalmunai as well as Kaduruwela in Polonaruwa. With its expansion drive in full swing, Amana Takaful Insurance is aggressively growing in Sri Lanka, in terms of its portfolio size and client base, whilst also taking the Takaful concept of insurance to greater heights.

Amana Takaful provides General, Life and Medical insurance solutions. Its Life arm operates as Amana Takaful Life and is now in the process of expansion. The flagship of General insurance is Amana Takaful Total Drive (Motor policy) that provides easy methods of claim settlement to ease customer's minds with the additional benefit of Surplus Refunds.

In terms of Life insurance, Amana Takaful Life offers financial plans for individuals, children and families through products such as Secura Platinum, Secura Gold, Educate and Secura.

Meanwhile, Medical Takaful was given new impetus and released three new products into the market, by the name of Hale and hearty, sub categorized as Young Minds, Young Adults and Easy, to cater to the 3 main age groups, including young children .

Link: http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=56348

Amana Takaful Insurance records a Billion in GWP

Amana Takaful Insurance recorded its first year of premium income above Rs 1 billion in 2008 together with significant improvement to the bottom line, fittingly celebrating its 10th year of operations in Sri Lanka. As the pioneer and leader of the Takaful concept that embodies mutuality and ethics, this milestone demonstrates the acceptance and development of the Takaful concept in Sri Lanka.

"Ranked among the top eight players in the General Insurance sector and ranked ninth place in the Life Insurance sector in Sri Lanka is a significant achievement for us at Amana Takaful Insurance. Despite many adversities, both local and global, we have recorded above industry average growth since our inception. Topping the Rs.1 billion mark is our biggest achievement to date and we will continue to grow from strength to strength," said Mr. Tyeab Akbarally, Chairman, Amana Takaful Insurance.

Gross Written Premium (GWP) grew by 26.56% to record Rs 1,024 Mn, which is well above the industry average. Life insurance showed major growth where GWP grew by 44% to reach Rs. 188 Mn. General Insurance recorded a growth of 23% to achieve a GWP of  Rs. 835 Mn. Total assets grew by 14.87% to reach Rs.1,053 Mn in 2008 as against Rs. 917 Mn in 2007.

The company also achieved a significant improvement over 2007 in its bottom line to reduce its Operating Loss by 65.7%. Prudent underwriting and improved investment income contributed mainly to this, showing much promise for Amana Takaful Insurance.

"Though our investment income grew significantly, one of our main challenges remains to be the dearth of Islamic investment opportunities in the country. Whilst conventional insurance companies in Sri Lanka largely benefit from the high returns on investment, as a Takaful operator, our investment opportunities are limited. Islamic investment opportunities are still in its infancy in Sri Lanka," Mr Akbarally added.

Mr Ehsan Zaheed, Director / Chief Executive Officer commenting on the performance said, "We had improved on many areas last year, based on our learnings of 2007. Our claims management and internal processes were revamped and we had healthy income from our investments as a result of several Islamic investment tie ups with banks. 2009 looks even more promising and we are very positive that we will do better this year, especially since its our 10th year of operations".

Consolidated results were boosted due to the injection of fresh thinking and investment in 2008 into areas of Life insurance and Medical insurance that materialized.

Mr Akbarally further commented, "We expect a significant growth in the Family Takaful business in 2009 and also from the Medical insurance business, which we see as a positive growth sector requiring good and proactive management. There is a lot of scope for medical insurance in Sri Lanka, given the high cost of quality residential medication." 

Amana Takaful Insurance's primary focus is into 'ethical insurance', the essence of Takaful, where transparency and fairness to the community of participants and customers have been built in to the service standards and business processes.

Amana Takaful Insurance is today an established Sri Lankan brand having begun its operations in 1999 in collaboration with Takaful Malaysia, one of the largest Takaful operators in the world. Its operations cover most of Sri Lanka, servicing clients through 18 locations in the West, South, North Central, East and Central hills. Amana Takaful Insurance also has a fully fledged operation in the Maldives.

Link: http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=46625