GCC Islamic insurance sector set to grow 25%

Ghazanfar Ali Khan reported in Arab News on 22 January that the Islamic insurance (Takaful) market will grow five fold over the next 10 years while the market for Shariah-compliant insurance will be worth USD 14 bn by 2015 being said at an Islamic insurance conference. Since 2000, Islamic insurance has been growing at more than 15 percent per annum, yet the market is still at its tip, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, said a report released on the occasion.

According to the report, insurance premiums paid in Muslim nations are equal to between 0.5 percent and 5 percent of gross domestic product. That compares with between 10 percent and 15 percent in developed markets. The event has been organized by the Islamic International Foundation for Economics and Finance, an affiliate of the Muslim World League, in cooperation with the Islamic Research and Training Institute.