Challenges of Islamic Insurance (Takaful) Globally

Abstract

This research analyzes the constraints in Islamic insurance (takaful) and its impact on performance of takaful operators/industry operating in Islamic countries. It is a qualitative research as it reviews a lots of literatures for identifying issues in a takaful industry of Islamic countries. The Content of twenty four relevant papers was analyzed. The constraints were categorized which is the contribution of this study. Market players by properly addressing the categorized constraints can bring significant growth in takaful sector. According to content analysis, there are following constraints in takaful industry of Islamic countries: takaful concept awareness, lack of education, different takaful models, lack of standardization, scarcity of human resources, real earnings management, corporate governance, technical efficiency, rural market, small penetration rate, inadequate technology capabilities, differences in culture, less number of shariah re-insurance, non- sharaih compliance risk, operating efficiency, human capital, income level of participants, and large size of takaful companies.This study highlights the constraints which can be considered by AAOIFI and IFSB for improving the standards of takaful industry operating at global level. Moreover, takaful operators can also get a view of all the constraints and can work on their policies for surviving with the above mentioned constraints for giving a better performance in the insurance market.

Keywords: Takaful Operators, Mudharabah Model, Wakala Model, Challenges of Takaful Operators, Islamic Insurance

JEL Classification: G1, G2