Amãna Takaful celebrates 18 years in insurance industry

Takaful is a concept of joint guarantee or mutuality, which simply means that any Takaful (insurance) contract is transparent and participatory. The participant is the Takaful certificate holder and thereby an active party in the deal. Together with the trustee (Takaful provider), the risk is shared as opposed to the conventional practice wherein the risk is passed on.
Takaful is also an ethical form which does not underwrite activity associated with gambling, speculation or interest generation.
A distinguishing feature of Takaful is the award of surplus. Simply put, the focal point is the general risk pool. Should there be a surplus at the end of an accounting period, the trustees will determine a proportionate award to non-claimant participants. The rest remains in the risk reserve.
With these hallowed principles, this Shariah compliant concept of Takaful has endured since 1999. Amana Takaful (ATPLC) is the only fully-fledged service provider holding aloft the Takaful spirit in its pristine purity.
With just six employees way back in 1999, the company has grown consistently over the years, underwriting both life and non-life classes. As of today, the company has a multi-ethnic workforce of 300+, a well-represented geographic footprint of 27 branches countrywide. As of now, ATPLC has two subsidiaries in the insurance sphere.
In 2005, a small team of Amanites ventured to the Maldives and established an agency house for insurance, which has now grown into a totally integrated Takaful outfit, listed on the Maldives Stock Exchange - the only Shariah compliant entity to this date. This subsidiary Amana Takaful Maldives holds a 15 share of market in the archipelago.
By regulation, the life segment of ATPLC was segregated into a new legal entity and listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in August 2016.
ATPLCs products and services are open to all. Apart from the generic classes of Takaful, the company has a string of branded products that are unmatched in the market. Additionally, branded products for personal lines in health, travel and housing, to name a few, can be picked off the shelf or customized accordingly.
Amãna Takaful has made good progress in understanding the needs and wants of the underserved segments within the financial services ecosystem. A range of micro products have been introduced in the last two years encompassing benefits on life, health, loss of income and funeral expenses both for individuals and family units. Given the very encouraging renewal rate, it has spurred us to enhance benefits and widen the scope of cover to the informal sector and ensure they are adequately protected.
In December 2016, following the extensive research and focus group study, two groundbreaking products were launched to embrace the three-wheeler community and motorcycle riders. These competitively superior products namely Tuk Tuk Full and Smart Rider Cover were placed before the target audiences and supply chain intermediaries through a series of road shows islandwide. The responses to date is encouraging.
In April, yet another new product was introduced to include the dairy farming community. The ‘Kiri Govi Sathkara’ cover aims to protect pastoral life and cattle in addition to a range of other benefits at an affordable price.
Despite the heavy claims payout in 2016, from the normal business compounded by the catastrophic flood, it is noteworthy that of 12 companies accounting for 75 percent of the market, ATPLC takes the top slot in the speed of  recognition of and settlement of motor claims (source: Independent Actuary NMG Consulting). This gives credence to its ISO recertification in terms of its internal processes, being the only player to achieve this feat in the insurance fraternity.
A consistent winner at the Sri Lanka Islamic Banking & Finance Industry awards for ATL has been recognised as the Islamic Finance Entity of the Year, together with numerous products and social upliftment awards. ATL also produced the recipient of the Gold award in the Life Insurance category at the National Sales Congress, Most Outstanding Candidate in Sri Lanka at the Chartered Insurance Institute Examinations (UK) and first among Sri Lankan candidates in the Associateship examination conducted by the Insurance Institute of India.