Takaful: The Islamic state

Takaful insurance has struggled to find traction in the UK. Despite this, this year has seen several Shariah?compliant products launch in the UK. Faithsure and in May, XL Group began providing Shariah-compliant products for large corporates on a global basis. However, the lack of takaful players could be due to the industry’s youth and stiff competition in personal lines of insurance business according to analysts. Sheikh Bilal Khan, sharia scholar at law firm Linklaters, believes there is potential for Takaful products if they are branded and marketed correctly. But the lack of state regulation on sharia-compliant products creates a real lack of trust in the market, he adds. Yet perhaps the demand among Muslim?run SMEs is where the true potential lies. Faithsure's Asif Khan certainly seems to think so. He's confident that Muslim businesses would not only be aware of Takaful insurance but also actively opt for it.