UAE: Regulator to set up takaful committee by year-end
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2015
A committee to oversee Islamic insurance will be established in the UAE by the end of this year to help standardise the sector, disclosed Mr Ebrahim Obaid Al Zaabi, Director General of the Insurance Authority (IA).
“We are working on it and planning to bring it out by the end of the year,” Mr Al Zaabi told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Takaful Conference in Dubai.
The committee will monitor takaful providers as well as the products they offer, he said. The composition of the body was still being finalised, but it will comprise mainly of those operating within the UAE’s takaful sector, he added.
Mr Al Zaabi also revealed that several Islamic insurers in the UAE are seeking guidance from the Authority on the possibility of mergers and acquisitions in the sector. He told Reuters that talks are at an early stage, without naming any of the companies.
The IA has been encouraging M&As in the insurance sector, which is seeing fierce competition. There are 60 insurance companies operating in the country, about a fifth of which are takaful operators.