Dubai, UAE : Middle East Global Advisors, a leading financial intelligence platform facilitating the development of knowledge-based economies in the MENASEA markets, will convene the 13th edition of their annual offering – The World Takaful Conference (WTC), in strategic partnership with the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority and supported by the Insurance Authority (IA) on April 09. The forum will take place at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Dubai, UAE.

To be held under the theme of “Differentiation, Innovation & Profitable Growth”, this year’s WTC will feature keynote addresses by H.E. Ebrahim Obaid Al-Zaabi, Director General, Insurance Authority (IA); Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC); Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer, Dubai International Financial Centre Authority and Dave Matcham, Chief Executive Officer, The International Underwriting Association of London (IUA). The forum will also see an exclusive presentation by Yahya Adnan Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Amanah Takaful, on differentiation and leveraging Takaful’s USP to achieve true competitive advantage.

In light of the ongoing disruption of the insurance industry, it has become imperative to deliberate on key suggestions in forming adaptable digital strategies for insurance operators that besides elevating customer experience, lead to long-term economies of scale. Key panels at WTC 2018 will focus on the issues of embracing digitization to increase insurance penetration and drive business growth, the legal and regulatory challenges associated with InsurTech and game-changing technologies that are revolutionizing the Takaful industry.

Leading Technology Gurus comprising Fadi Hindi, Chief Executive Officer, Takaful Emarat; Peter Englund, Senior Executive Officer - Commercial Insurance Middle East, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd; Ambareen Musa, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Souqalmal.com; Peter Hodgins, Partner, Clyde & Co. & Sanjay Jain, MENA Insurance Leader – Africa, India & Middle East, Ernst & Young, amongst others, will delve deep into these issues with the aim of generating breakthrough insights for the smooth adoption of digitized processes that will chart the way ahead for the insurance industry.

Speaking on behalf of WTC’s Platinum Partner, Fadi Hindi, Chief Executive Officer, Takaful Emarat, said, “I am excited to be a part of the 2018 World Takaful Conference. It is important to come together and exchange ideas in a forum such as this to help move our industry forward. The global insurance industry is changing rapidly, and new technology has changed not only our products but our ways of working. Insurtech is as much about offering better insurance products to our customers as it is about driving efficiencies and excellent customer service.”

Adding further, Mr. Hindi, said, “New technologies such as artificial intelligence and data science can give us insights and abilities to change the face of Takaful insurance in the region. It is as simple as offering clients a customised insurance plan that they can design and buy through a smartphone application or taking a picture of a possession they want to insure for example. Blockchain is also very important for our industry as we secure information and establish seamless payment processes in a fraction of the time that historically has been needed.  Drones are also proving to be useful as they speed up the assessment process across multiple industries. For example – it normally takes about half a day to assess the roof of a house or building, drones can make this happen in 20 minutes or less. The possibilities are endless.”

Speaking ahead of the conference, Peter Englund, Senior Executive Officer - Commercial Insurance Middle East, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, said, ''We welcome dialogue on priorities between practitioners and regulators. The Annual World Takaful Conference has proven to be an appreciated venue in that regard, as it also provides an opportunity to network with leading stakeholders and thought leaders.''

Time and again, the WTC has also proven to be an ideal launching pad for research and intelligence reports that provide strategic insights to the most pressing issues targeting the industry at large. This year’s edition will see the launch of the Milliman Monitor, equipping Takaful leaders in the regulatory, demographical and technological landscape to take stock of the key industry trends and explore factors that are critical to their organization’s long-term growth. The Milliman Monitor captures the overall and company specific financial results for the year ending 2017 for all publicly listed Takaful and conventional players in the UAE. It not only provides a top-line analysis, but also a bottom-line financial performance of the insurance and Takaful industry in the UAE, whilst also providing insights into the reasons for the strong performance of the industry as a whole.

Other key features for WTC 2018 include: Keynote Addresses by leading Regulatory Authorities and Industry Leaders, Leaders’ Perspective Panel on The Profitability & Sustainable Growth for the Global Takaful industry; Industry Veterans’ Panel focusing on a new vision for Takaful and the way forward & a dedicated WTC exhibition, amongst others.

Partners at WTC 2018 include: Takaful Emarat, Milliman & Clyde & Co. Delegates can also stay abreast of the latest updates on the programme, network and connect with other delegates and speakers through Direct Messaging, and engage in live interactive polling across all of the session via WTC’s very own digital link-based mobile application – Web Connect, making for a truly immersive experience. Delegates can log on to the app via the following link: www.wtc18.com/connect 

To find out more about WTC 2018, visit www.wtc18.com 

Join the global conversation on Twitter at: @WorldTakaful #WorldTakaful18

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ABOUT THE WORLD TAKAFUL CONFERENCE

World Takaful Conference (WTC) is the leading global forum for Takaful which has played an instrumental role in the development of the industry for more than a decade by facilitating thought-provoking discussions, producing quality research and actionable insights.

WTC serves as a platform to facilitate ideas sharing among the leaders in the industry gathered from various parts of the world ranging from key markets for Takaful such as the GCC and Southeast Asia to emerging markets such as Africa and Europe.

For more information, visit www.wtc18.com 

ABOUT MIDDLE EAST GLOBAL ADVISORS 
Connecting markets with intelligent insights & strategic execution since 1993

Middle East Global Advisors (MEGA) is the leading gateway connectivity and intelligence platform to Islamic finance opportunities in the rapidly developing economic region that stretches all the way from Morocco in the West to Indonesia in the East- The Middle East North Africa Southeast Asia (MENASEA) connection. For 25 years, our exclusive focus on achieving business results for the Islamic finance industry has enabled us to create significant value for the leading players in the Islamic banking, finance and investment markets.
 
Visit us at www.meglobaladvisors.com  or follow us on Twitter @meglobaladvisor

ABOUT DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is one of the world’s top ten financial centres, and the leading financial hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.  The Centre provides a world-class platform connecting the region’s markets with the economies of Europe, Asia and the Americas and facilitates growth in South-South trade and investment. An onshore, international financial centre, DIFC offers a stable, mature and secure base for financial institutions to develop their wholesale businesses.

The Centre offers all the elements found in the world’s most successful financial industry ecosystems, including an independent regulator and judicial system with a common-law framework, a global financial exchange, inspiring architecture, powerful, enabling support services and a vibrant business community. The infrastructure within the district features ultra-modern office space, retail outlets, cafes and restaurants, art galleries, residential apartments, public green areas and hotels.

Located midway between the global financial centres of New York, London in the West and Singapore, Hong Kong in the East, DIFC (GMT +4) fills a vital time-zone gap with a workday that bridges the market and business hours of financial centres in both Asia and North America.

In 2015, DIFC launched its 2024 growth strategy, a blueprint for the next decade of growth of the financial hub. This strategy aims to stimulate trade and investment flows along the South-South economic corridor encompassing the Middle East, Africa, Southern Asia and Latin America. 

Currently, 1,750 active registered companies operate from the Centre, with a combined workforce of 21,611 professionals. DIFC continues to pursue expansion into new services and sectors within the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, an area comprising over 72 countries with an approximate population of 3 billion and nominal GDP of US$7.4 trillion.

For further information, please visit our website: www.difc.ae , or follow us on Twitter @DIFC.

© Press Release 2018