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@ Halal | January-February . 2021

BY CAMILIA REZALI

market penetration , and takaful development in Islamic Banking were not as significant as it is today .

The international rating agency , Fitch Ratings , stated there were signs that takaful was finally making inroads in a market that ought to be its natural financial habitat . While the market share of Islamic banking of the entire banking sector is just under 40 per cent , the percentage of takaful is still way behind at 16 per cent of the whole insurance sector in Malaysia .

Chief Executive Officer of Zurich Takaful Malaysia Berhad , Mukesh Dhawan , said : “ The allocation rates were lower in the early years and as per the guidelines provided by Bank Negara on Oct1 , 2020 , all Investment-Linked Plans ( ILPs ) must allocate more units to the customers .”

“ Despite the guidelines , we see there is a big chunk of the Malaysian population who are not covered . So , to reach them , we need a wider product , which is what we have now – Proinvest ,” he said .

Zurich Takaful officially introduced Takaful ProInvest on Nov 3 , 2020 . The investmentlinked plan is designed to optimise savings and investments . It is also intended to help Malaysians plan for a better future and a comfortable retirement .

At its core is a wide choice of professionally-managed Shariah-approved local and foreign investment funds to diversify and optimise investment returns . This includes the recently-launched Shariah Global Edge Fund that tracks the MSCI World Islamic Index where the underlying fund is managed by Blackrock .

Its other funds , which are focused on Malaysia ’ s domestic markets , are either managed internally or are feeder funds that invest in products managed by RHB Bank and Principal Asset Management ( formerly CIMB-Principal Asset Management ).

Since Oct 1 , 2020 , Takaful allocations have improved as high as 60 per cent . The improvement was believed to be driven by the Minimum Allocation Rate ( MAR ) guidelines – a new market strategy structured by Bank Negara .

With the new guidelines coming into force , ProInvest is made more customer-centric . It is a more transparent and dynamic product .

“ For financial planning enthusiasts , Proinvest will act as a base solution , and customers can tailor-make it . We enable our customers to increase their contribution by increasing top-ups as time goes by . And the best part is that you can extend the plan up to 100 years of age .

“ Customers can sell units and even withdraw units for any preferred use , like children ’ s education , children ’ s marriage , family vacation and others . It can be for anything that you need . That is why I call it a very dynamic , flexible and customer-friendly product ,” added Mukesh .

Its Family Care Privilege under Takaful

Mukesh

Proinvest enables up to four spouses and / or children to obtain coverage up to RM300,000 or 25 per cent Basic Sum Covered ( BSC ) each without medical examination should the unfortunate happen . This helps secure the family ’ s financial well-being even after the client ’ s death .

Takaful ProInvest simplifies customer enrolment with a high non-medical limit of up to RM4,000,000 . Auto-extension on coverage term until age 100 is possible without the need for any medical examination .

“ Adding a complementary essence to the plan is wealth protection , which offers a high death benefit and Accidental Indemnity benefits . This emphasises the plan as a lifetime solution , in gearing customers for their retirement needs .

“ This three-pronged approach of helping customers to save and invest while having coverage allows customers to focus on achieving their life goals without worry , be it a comfortable retirement , or a secure future for their family ,” said Mukesh .

So , the diversification of Proinvest extends to providing Shariah fund managers ’ choice , or options provided by Blackrock , RHB Bank or CIMB Bank . Mukesh described the product as a “ plan that provides the next level of diversification ”.

To increase awareness of takaful , Zurich Takaful desires to serve the under-served population in Malaysia by expanding the number of Takaful agents .

Mukesh said : “ We need more people to serve them . Therefore , our plan is to drive growth with a multi-distribution approach or a multi-channel approach .

“ We have a dominant agency force called Zurich Takaful Wealth Planners that contributes to 95 per cent of our business , comprising 7,000 professionally trained agents across Malaysia . In short , we are going to grow that channel by recruiting more people .”

For financial planning enthusiasts , Proinvest will act as a base solution , and customers can tailor-make it . We enable our customers to increase their contribution by increasing top-ups as time goes by . And the best part is that you can extend the plan up to 100 years of age .”