Salama Islamic Arab Insurance, one of the region’s leading Islamic insurance (Takaful) companies, has announced a 42 per cent increase in its gross written premium for 2008.

The board of directors of Salama announced that its gross written premium for year ending December 31, 2008 touched Dh1.326 billion ($361 million) as against Dh933 million ($254 million) in 2007 with a 42 per cent growth.

The company, which is the largest Takaful and Re-Takaful operator in the world, also announced that its underwriting income registered a remarkable 39 per cent increase to Dh164 million in 2008, compared to Dh118 million in the previous year.

“The achieved growth in our written premium is the result of our dedicated continuous work to prove once again that Salama is the leader in Takaful and Re-Takaful companies worldwide and is among the best Islamic insurance companies, therefore we strive to keep up with our good performance as this increase will leave us with more responsibilities towards investors,” said Dr Saleh Malaikah, vice chairman & CEO of Salama.

“The extraordinary results achieved by Salama amidst the global economic turbulence further reinforce our company’s growth trajectory and strong fundamentals,” said Rafiq Halani, general manager – general & health Takaful at Salama.

“We have achieved a strong performance because of our prudent investment policies, corrective measures on a timely basis and presence in strategic markets which are not exposed to the economic crisis,” he added.

“Our strategy focuses on building the Takaful and re-Takaful business portfolio and improving our written premium and underwriting standards.”

Noel D’Mello, general manager – family Takaful, said: “The financial growth achieved in our written premium is a reflection of the strength and quality of our Takaful and Re-Takaful products and services.

Salama has already carved a niche for itself in the Islamic insurance sector and has maintained a very high ‘A-‘ rating from AM Best and ‘BBB+’ by S&P, which augurs well for its growth across the GCC and beyond, especially in the changed economic milieu.”

The company was nominated for best Takaful operator and best Banca Takaful operator at the Islamic Business & Finance awards 2008 orgainised by CPI Financial.

It has a paid-up capital of $300 million and is listed at the Dubai Financial Market.

Salama has a business presence in their traditional territories -- Far East, Africa, Middle East and Central Asia, which is further improving with geographical expansion, business growth and introduction of new life lines. – TradeArabia News Service