Qatar: Takaful accounts for 1% of total assets of its Islamic finance market
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jul 2021
The total assets in Qatar’s Islamic finance sector amounted to QAR528bn ($145bn) at the end of 2020, according to a report published by Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultations.
The report, titled ‘Islamic finance in Qatar – 2020’, said that takaful companies accounted for approximately 1% of this total. The lion’s share of 86% comprised Islamic banking assets. Sukuk accounted for another 12% and investment funds and other Islamic financial institutions accounted for the remaining 1%.
According to the report, the assets of takaful companies in the domestic market amounted to QAR4.1bn at the end of 2020, down marginally from QAR4.2bn at the end of 2019. Takaful contributions in 2020 were flat, amounting to QAR1.3bn which represented a marginal 0.1% decrease from end-December 2019.
However, the surpluses of takaful companies jumped to QAR149.1m in 2020 from QAR5.7m in 2019. This was due to lower claims because of COVID-19 lockdowns.
There are five takaful providers in the domestic market supervised by the Qatar Central Bank: Qatar Islamic Insurance, Alkhaleej Takaful Insurance, Damaan Islamic Insurance (Beema), General Takaful Company and Doha Takaful.
Apart from the five takaful companies in the domestic market, another four insurers are engaged in takaful, operating out of the Qatar Financial Centre. They are: MedGulf Allianz Takaful, T’azur, Takaful International and SEIB Insurance and Reinsurance. M