141
and improve their intermediaries and inter-professional bodies through fees, education
and training. Intermediaries have direct contacts with customers.
One expert from Turkey has acknowledged that conventional insurance is a market
leader in the country. Yet more than 80% of the insured values in Turkey are not yet
insured. This provides an opportunity for the Takaful industry to develop a strategy to
penetrate the market rather than thinking of becoming a market leader. In addition, the
Takaful industry can develop products to meet the needs of customers who are not
interested in the conventional insurance product. Two experts from Saudi Arabia say
that the cooperative law is applicable to all insurance business in the Kingdom and
accordingly there is hardly any competition between the Takaful and conventional
insurance markets. The two Saudi experts added that enhancing the competitiveness of
the Takaful industry would require the industry to avail more Re-Takaful providers and
more Shari'ah compliant investment products and services.
7. What should be done to enhance the Human capital level of the Takaful Industry?
The experts in the three countries agree that enhancing the quality of the human
resource is vital to the Takaful industry. Five experts from Malaysia commented on the
human resource challenges facing the Takaful industry. They said the industry has
antiquated conventionally trained human capital, recruited from the conventional
insurance industry when Takaful had just started. The five experts also commented that
most professionals, brokers and agents who sell Takaful products lack basic Shari'ah
knowledge. They added that most of those working in the Takaful sector are largely
specialized in banking, finance, accounting and the capital market sectors. Few are
specialized in Takaful. Even in academia, it is difficult to find lecturers with Takaful
knowledge and experience. This situation is evident of the dire need for expertise in
Takaful. The five Malaysian experts suggest that there is a need for strengthening the
relationship between academia and industry experts. With such arrangements, the
academia can develop relevant curriculum and produce students with the required
skills. On the other hand, the industry expert can also teach in learning institutions and
conduct training. There will also be rooms for joint research. Furthermore, they suggest
that there must be a minimum standard that all Takaful professionals must have, such
as a certificate. Such qualification instils certain values, integrity and professionalism to
project the Takaful industry and earn for it respect from similar industries. All these
measures will help enhance the quality of human resource in the Takaful industry.
An expert from Turkey suggests that in order to enhance the quality of human resource
and maintain their values through the human resource ecosystem, Takaful companies
need to address all their employees to understand and relate to the meaning of the work.
Managers should adopt supportive, clear and transparent administrations with realistic
goals; working environment should be humane, flexible and; Takaful companies should
provide education, development opportunities in addition to academic studies and
training programs for technical skills related to insurance, Takaful and Fiqh. Three