Saudi Arabia: MedGulf inks multi-year deal with external shariah auditor
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jun 2019
The Mediterranean and Gulf Cooperative Insurance and Reinsurance Company (MedGulf) has signed a multi-year agreement with Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) for its shariah audit services as part of the company’s shariah-compliant transformation strategy.
Under the deal, SRB will review and audit MedGulf’s cooperative health, motor, property and other insurance and reinsurance products along with its investments and operations which will enhance the quality and controls of the company in light of its shariah board’s guidelines. SRB will also use its industry-leading shariah audit practices to help MedGulf establish more standardised shariah controls and reduce non-compliance exposure.
“MedGulf has been working hard to enhance its insurance processes, from product development, coverage facilities, employee support, administration, service quality, and customer satisfaction”, its CEO Dr Tarek Al-Naeem said.
He added, “We have had an equal level of focus on improving shariah compliance at both the product and operational level. But to truly enable MedGulf’s transformation, we are independently seeking to leverage leading shariah audit practices. This is why we selected SRB because of its track record for delivering large shariah audit projects in the kingdom that deliver meaningful business outcomes for insurance companies.
“As part of their scope, they will also be strengthening the shariah controls required to manage our equity in light of shariah financial thresholds. We expect this to increase our degree of confidence in scaling-up as MedGulf seeks to grow vertically in the kingdom. This approach will help drive success while providing our stakeholders with an independent assurance of true shariah compliance at MedGulf,” Dr Al-Naeem explained.
Mr Yasser S Dahlawi, founder and CEO of SRB said, “Helping MedGulf achieve its strategic transformation goals in light of shariah compliance is an important area of focus for SRB… It has taken us a lot of time and resources to continuously upgrade our shariah audit assurance service. We have worked for years to create a comprehensive service which caters to different pillars of the insurance companies.” M