More than 400 international Islamic insurance industry leaders have gathered Dubai, UAE at the most influential gathering of international leaders in the takaful industry .

The two-day World Takaful Conference (WTC 2015), being held at the Dusit Thani Hotel, will conclude tomorrow (April 14).

The leaders include key decision-makers representing over 150 international and regional organisations, with a powerful line-up of more than 50 international speakers and industry through leaders discussed critical issues that the global takaful industry is currently facing and how the industry needs to be reshaped for greater success.

A special keynote session on the opening day focused on assessing the direction of the takaful industry in consideration of recent regulatory developments in various jurisdictions and Dubai’s aspirations to solidify its position as a global Islamic economic hub.

Speaking at the keynote session, Abdulla Al Awar, chief executive officer of the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), said: “The global takaful industry has exhibited an exponential growth over the past few years. One of the major factors is the development of overall Islamic economy, others include robust regulatory frameworks, increasing customer awareness and low penetration rates. The key challenges that the global takaful industry face are intense competition, depreciating profit margins, operating efficiency and scalability.

“For the global takaful industry to achieve its goal of long-term stability, it is imperative to find pioneering solutions to cope with the challenges of an increasingly competitive takaful market. This year’s WTC 2015 held under the theme of ‘Revitalizing the Industry: A New Way Forward for Takaful’ presents meaningful insights on reenergising the industry and setting a new way forward.”

A major highlight of this year’s 10th Anniversary edition of WTC was the industry leaders’ Power Debate session, which featured significant debates and discussions on how takaful operators can adapt to revitalize the industry and evaluating new strategies to put the industry on a growth path.

Speaking at the Power Debate session, Mohamed Hussein El Dishish, CEO, Emirates Retakaful Limited (EmiratesRE), noted: “The Retakaful market is growing, but remains far behind its potential. Additional capital in the conventional market is pressuring on the rates in an unpreceded alarming level. At the same time, investment management is not giving the necessary relief.

“Consolidation would give some relief, but no one is taking the initiative. Regulators are aware of the situation and new regulations issued by the Insurance Authority (IA) of the United Arab Emirates are timely and will bear fruits for the UAE market soon. New systems must be put in place and the market needs to support the regulator in its efforts for improvements, since a bad market will end in a “lose lose” game for all participants.”

“The 10th Anniversary of the World Takaful Conference (WTC 2015) provides a perfect platform for discussions on key topics such as the regulatory developments and investment management strategies to tackle the challenges in our industry. I am delighted to be part of this milestone conference,” he said.

The second day will feature high-profile sessions such as an exclusive on-stage interview session with a leading pioneer in the Takaful industry.

The WTC 2015 exhibition which will be held along the sidelines of the conference will showcase the latest innovative products, services, as well as thought leadership. - TradeArabia News Service