MAA Takaful inks collaborative agreement with LIMRA, CERT

By John Gilbert
MAA Takaful Bhd inked a collaborat ive agreement with Life Insurance and Market Research Association International (LIMRA) and Centre for Research and Training (CERT) yesterday as part of its strategies to further enhance its agency force and to reach a broader takaful market segment.
This is the first time LIMRA is undertaking a broadbased professional distribution development project with a takaful operator. Under the collaborative agreement, LIMRA and CERT will develop and implement a comprehensive Shariah-compliant leadership development programme encompas sing agency leadership training, certification and international recognition in addition to strengthening MAA Takaful's distribution network.
"We have about 6,000 active agents and we hope that within the next five years, half of the current active agents can be accredited as LIMRA Certified Managers of Financial Advisors," MAA Takaful chief executive officer, Salim Majid Zain, told reporters yesterday after the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the programme will contribute towards value proposition and will further develop the takaful industry in the country.
"Our priority is to ensure that our takaful participants in every corner of the country receive professional advice through a well-suited system that focuses on their needs.
"We are confident this programme will deliver high and professional standard for takaful practitioners in the country," he said.

On MAA Takaful's revenue, Salim said the company is expecting RM1 billion in total revenue in five years through the strong presence of its distribution channels.
He said the contributions will come from life and general insurance segments, which stand at 60% and 40% respectively.
"We expect to receive RM750 million from life insurance in five years time and with the strengthening of our agency force, this will also contribute to our future growth," he said.
Up to June this year, MAA Takaful had already earned RM160 million in revenue and is expected to earn RM250 million by year-end.

(This story appeared in The Malaysian Reserve on 21 September 2010. The Malaysian Reserve is a daily business/finance newspaper published out of Kuala Lumpur, with a sectoral page on Islamic finance on Mondays, edited by Habhajan Singh)