UAE-based Takaful Emarat, a Shariah-compliant life and health insurer, has signed an agreement with Wahat Al Zaweya Company to act as the exclusive provider of death and disability insurance to its home mortgage client base.

Under the agreement, Takaful Emarat will provide Shariah-compliant life and health insurance to the real estate developer’s customers across the emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Takaful Emarat, as one of only two Shariah-compliant health and life insurers approved by the Department of Health Authority to support the roll out of mandatory health insurance in Dubai, is uniquely well-positioned to benefit from the increased uptake of takaful insurance in the region, which is forecast to grow as insurance penetration deepens, a company statement said.

By 2017, the global gross takaful market is expected to reach US$20 billion, up from current estimates of $14 billion, according to EY.

Mohammad Alhawari, executive board member & managing director of Takaful Emarat, said: “Over the last two tears, we have invested heavily in our team and business to ensure we have the correct skill sets in place to drive growth and capture market share.”

“This has generated significant traction in our market and for H1 2015 our business delivered a 187 per cent increase in sales to Dh164 million ($44.6 million) with underwriting profit up 82 per cent to Dh17.3 million.

“Added to this we are focusing on developing our product distribution capability and reach. Our most recent agreement with Wahat Al Zaweya Company and wider partnerships with major financial institutions such as RAK Bank and Emirates Islamic Bank, are testimony to the growing demand for our life and health solutions across the UAE and complement our on-going domestic expansion supported by new branch openings. I look forward to providing further updates in due course,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service