Kenya's insurance regulator has said that there has been a sharp increase in the number of conventional insurers enquiring about setting up Takaful windows to tap the growing demand for Islamic finance in the country. "The number of enquires has gone up from a very few to more than 10 this year and we are having discussions with those companies," Sammy Makove [pictured], CEO of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) told The Islamic Globe.
He said, however, that the IRA is taking its time to give the go ahead to these companies because of the shortage of Takaful regulation skills in the country. "We have to be ready and have adequate skills to regulate this new line of business," he said.
The IRA is currently training its own staff to improve their understanding of Shari'ah compliant insurance products. He said the IRA is advising conventional insurers to form conventional Takaful subsidiaries instead of windows because the experience of countries like Malaysia has showed Takaful consumers prefer buying from companies that do not have any conventional attachments.
Takaful regulation skills gained by IRA workers will also be used to help other East African countries set up their Takaful regulation departments.
"We have signed an agreement with all the East Africa Community (EAC) countries on cooperation regarding Takaful," he said.
The EAC includes Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. South Sudan has observer status.
© The Islamic Globe 2011
