Banks venture into insurance as faithful seek new investment avenues

Investors are rolling out more Sharia-compliant financial services into the Kenyan market, betting on the growth of the Muslim population to boost the uptake of Islamic financial services that began five years back with simple current accounts.
The growth in numbers coincides with a string of new financial service investments that target the faithful.
The bank’s managing director, Mr Nathif Adam, said the entry into takaful is a first step towards offering integrated Islamic financial services, a strategy that has been echoed by Gulf African Bank that also announced plans to venture into other financial services in the near term.
Other conventional banks have also developed Sharia-compliant current accounts while conventional insurers are eyeing new opportunities in Sharia-compliant products.
Mr Adam told Business Daily the bank has signed up one conventional insurer and will soon rope in more underwriters to act as agents for its takaful offerings.
The two firms said they are targeting general insurance focusing on property and motor covers.