Making waves in takaful industry
May 18th, 2009 by 1takaful
Source: The Edge Daily, 18th May 2009
Though a relatively new takaful company, with a six-year track record behind it, Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd has made waves. Takaful Ikhlas was chosen as the Best Takaful/Retakaful Provider 2008 by readers of Islamic Finance News (IFN) in a draw held in conjunction with Islamic Finance News Awards 2008 recently. The award was won through ballots conducted by Islamic finance industry practitioners and observers through IFN, which focuses on the international Islamic finance market.
Takaful Ikhlas president and CEO Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman notes that Takaful Ikhlas’ products have gained public acceptance. The company is targeting RM2 million in sales for its latest product, Ikhlas Big Bike Takaful, for the financial year ending March 31, 2010.
Ikhlas Big Bike Takaful is its newest protection plan for owners of superbikes of 500cc and above. It is a standard insurance policy for motorcycles with additional provisions such as theft of superbikes and accessories, repairs and other accident-related benefits. It will also compensate the owner or his nominees for deaths and injuries and covers third-party property damage caused by a superbike in an accident.
In the event of an accident, the replacement of a brand-new superbike will depend on the terms and conditions of the policy.
Ikhlas Big Bike Takaful is divided into four categories according to the model and usage of superbikes, namely cruisers, sports bikes, tourers and dual-purpose bikes.
The company has streamlined various plans to penetrate the international market in the coming years and thus, continuous efforts have been made to ensure that these could be realised in the short term. “Takaful Ikhlas is grateful that it was chosen as the recipient of the award by IFN even though our involvement in the takaful industry is still new compared with other takaful operators,” says Syed Moheeb. “Such an award would help raise the profile of the Takaful Ikhlas’ brand not only in this country but also at the international level.”
He adds that the award was held to recognise companies which have operations that directly or indirectly contribute to Islamic finance institutions.
Takaful Ikhlas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MNRB Holdings Bhd (MNRB), was set up in July 2003. MNRB is listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia, where its main shareholder is Permodalan Nasional Bhd through its Amanah Saham Bumiputera scheme. At present, Takaful Ikhlas has more than 5,000 agents nationwide. It has branches in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Baru, Sungai Petani, Johor Baru, Kuching, Melaka, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Ipoh and Putrajaya.