Noor Investment eyes 5% of UAE insurance market

Dubai: Noor Investment Group said yesterday it aims to have a five per cent share of the UAE's Dh15 billion insurance market within five years as it launched two new business entities to offer takaful, or Islamic insurance, products in the country.

Noor Takaful Family PJSC and Noor Takaful General PJSC join some 50 other insurance companies operating in the UAE.

The two units have been set up with a combined paid up capital of Dh150 million.

The move is in line with the company's strategy to capitalise on the growing GCC Islamic insurance sector which is expected to grow at about 25 per cent per annum, Noor officials told reporters yesterday, announcing the launch of the two units.

Noor Takaful Family and Noor Takaful General will operate initially from four locations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, offering general and family takaful coverage for individuals, businesses and corporate clients.

"The aim is to expand the reach of these companies to include the Middle East and North African region," a Noor statement noted.

However, the officials speaking at the press conference yesterday said there were no specific plans yet to expand into other Gulf markets as the company would first want to grow its business within the country.

Noor Takaful chief executive officer Pervaiz Seddiqi said the group aimed to capture a five per cent share of the market "within five years" on the back of rising demand for Islamic insurance services.

"The insurance market grew 41 per cent in 2007. Our estimate is that the takaful business grew between 60 and 70 per cent," Seddiqi told Gulf News.

He said the takaful segment of the total market was less than four per cent and there were huge opportunities for its growth.

The global takaful industry is estimated to be around $2 billion (Dh7.34 billion), according to the Noor Investment Group.

Ahmad Al Janahi, group deputy CEO of Noor Investment Group, believes the Islamic insurance sector in the region will grow the way Islamic banking has grown and will capture market share from conventional insurance companies.

"This has proven in Islamic banking and will happen in takaful as well," he said.

The demand for takaful products has grown over the past few years, particularly within the GCC region as there is a "shift towards ethical, innovative and Shariah-compliant financial solutions," Al Janahi said.