TAKAFUL INDUSTRY ON STEADY GROWTH IN 2024 -- ASSOCIATION

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) expects the takaful industry to maintain a steady momentum in 2024.

MTA chairman Elmie Aman Najas said 2024 will perform better, reflecting the overall four per cent economic expansion forecast versus 3.7 per cent in 2023.

"We are optimistic. Trend wise, there are improvements in terms of the size in existing products which shows that participations (certificate holders) are becoming more aware about having protection (takaful)," he said at a media briefing Takaful Industry Performance and Strategic Transformation Plan today.

bootstrap slideshow

Meanwhile, chief executive officer Mohd Radzuan Mohamed said he expects micro takaful products such as the Perlindungan Tenang could see further growth because 40 per cent of the population, mainly from the bottom medium (BM) 40 category, do not have insurance/takaful.

"There are 11 products that are offered by 10 takaful operators. We expect product offerings could increase once we develop the takaful industry transformation plan called Hijrah27," Mohd Radzuan said. 

Hijrah27, the takaful industry roadmap (2024-2027), aims to elevate and innovate takaful to be a household name in Malaysia and to inspire a new generation of participants. 

The mandate, he said, is to make takaful more relevant, accessible, and impactful.

"The transformation plan embraces change and aligns MTA’s mission with the visionary goals of the financial sector blueprint 2026 and the industry's value-based intermediation framework. 

"Hijrah27 is the continuation of the successfully concluded MTA reform plan 2022-2023, known as ISLAH 23, and will guide the industry and overall Islamic ecosystem to advance takaful," he added. 

At the event, Elmie said throughout 2023, the family takaful business added 1.13 million new certificates with a corresponding gross contribution of RM9.59 billion.

However, it could not reach the high 1.31 million new certificates and RM10.06 billion gross contribution registered in 2022.

"Although the figure was slightly lower than the previous year, it underscores the sustained interest and trust in takaful protection among the people," Elmie said. 

He also noted that takaful operators paid out a total of RM8.74 billion in 2023 to support people in their time of need.

The family takaful honoured RM6.79 billion in benefits, underlining its commitment to safeguarding families across the nation. 

The general takaful, meanwhile, disbursed a total of RM1.95 billion. This uptick of 24.40 per cent in payouts demonstrates the takaful industry’s responsiveness to emerging needs and its dedication to promptly assist certificate holders.

"This payout comes on the back of family takaful gross contribution of business inforce which grew 7.55 per cent to RM8.97 billion compared to RM8.34 billion in 2022," said Elmie. 

The number of certificates inforce in 2023 was also stable at 6.60 million, shy of the 6.63 million certificates inforce recorded in 2022.

Performance-wise, he said the three-year numbers indicate a normalisation in the industry in 2023 after 2022 strong post-pandemic growth. 

"The family takaful penetration rate in 2023 held relatively steady at 19.58 per cent, even as the population grew by 678,500, outpacing 2022 and was a record 10-year high growth," he said. 

In 2022, the penetration rate was 20.06 per cent and population growth was 401,600 persons.

-- BERNAMA