21. TakafulTech for Business Excellence and Customer Satisfaction

Insurance vis-à-vis takaful represents a tool of prime importance in modern economies. It enables the insureds to reduce and better manage their risk exposures. The basic feature of an insurance contract is that the insured buys a future promise of payment contingent upon the occurrence of specified events. This means the insured pays his consideration from the very beginning of the contract. But before the insurer is called to “perform its part”, the security profile of the insurer may have changed with time. Therefore, the long-term reliability of an insurance/takaful company must be beyond doubt. This has led the regulatory authority to enact regulations aimed at securing the long-term reliability of insurers. The concern for consumer protection has expanded the scope of insurance supervisory body, and therefore, greater consideration may be given to insurance consumer protection measures. Supervisory body need to frame rules/regulations, guidelines to ensure customer protection measures. Strong commitment, integrity and honesty are essential qualities for all positions within the insurance industry. Further, to keep up with the times, on-going training and retraining of key personnel is a necessity. The government regulatory body need to ensure that the insurers and Takaful Operators (TO) adhere to the basic rules and ethics of business.