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CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION
Takaful, the Islamic Shari'ah compliant insurance, has been in practice in many OIC and non-OIC
member countries for the last thirty-eight years. The industry is growing slowly but steadily and
is expected to spread to several other Islamic and non-Islamic countries in the near future.
Although Takaful is well developed in some countries, like Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, there are
still more rooms for promoting, encouraging and developing it, so that it is well understood and
is reachable to a number of Muslim clientele who need Takaful but have no access to it.
The main objective of this research project, commissioned by COMCEC, is to conduct a landscape
study of the existing Takaful industry in OIC and non-OIC countries, assess its development,
analyse the related issues and suggest policy recommendations for further enhancing the
growth of the industry in OIC member countries and worldwide.
The study has adopted several research methods to achieve the objectives of the project. Firstly,
the survey went through extant literature for the landscape survey, state of the art of the Takaful
industry for identifying the issues and the research gaps. Secondly, the write-up of the project,
required content analysis of reports and publications on Takaful. Thirdly, the survey of country
cases was undertaken in order to assess the strength and weaknesses of the Takaful industry
for each of the four countries (Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UK), which were selected
for the study. Finally, a mixed method comprising survey questionnaire and expert interviews
were conducted with relevant stakeholders to solicit data on the challenges. SWOT analysis was
also used to determine the future direction of the Takaful industry at the local, regional and
global levels.
The major findings of the study are mixed. For instance, the landscape survey shows that the
Takaful industry is growing steadily, and the prospect is promising. However, the growth is
increasing at a slow pace. This is, perhaps, due to several challenges, such as the lack of
regulatory and legal frameworks, the need of human capital development, the weak information
technology, the inappropriate infrastructure, the weak Shari'ah governance, the less diversified
products and services, and the non-standardized business operations.
The results from the country case studies show wide variations in the levels of development of
the Takaful industry. Malaysia has made great achievements by putting in place the Takaful
regulatory and legal framework, Shari'ah governance and efficient business operations. On the
other hand, the other three countries need time to enact Takaful laws and develop their Shari'ah
governance structure. The UK, Malaysia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia need to invest in technology
and human resource to enhance their products and services and their delivery channels. All four
countries are in need of educating the public about the benefits of Takaful through awareness
campaigns.
In view of the slow growth of the Takaful industry and the challenges in some key areas, this