Finding innovative ways to improve digital takaful for the modern era is more important than ever in an increasingly digitalized world. Today, technology has become an essential part of our daily lives, so we must keep up. By investigating new ways to improve digital takaful, we can ensure that we provide our customers with the highest protection and security possible. We can only improve the current digital takaful framework, whether through cloud computing or the incorporation of artificial intelligence into customer support systems. So let’s get started and look at all of our options!

What is Digital Takaful and Why is it Important?

Digital takaful is a brand-new and cutting-edge method of financial redistribution and protection. It is an approach to Islamic finance motivated by moral standards, rules, and procedures, to provide participants with a sense of security. In contrast to traditional insurance, digital takaful follows a cooperative philosophy and provides returns to participants.

Digital takaful works in the same way that other insurance-related systems do. People or organizations who want to participate in the fund pool will make regular payments to the system. The funds are then used to help people financially impacted by unlucky events such as illness, death, or property damage. The funds are then distributed among those who contributed and those who were impacted by unexpected events.

Embarking on a crucial transformation 

Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, The MNRB Group consists of Malaysian Reinsurance Berhad and Malaysian Re (Dubai) Ltd., two of the top wholesale reinsurance and retakaful providers, as well as Takaful Ikhlas Family Berhad and Takaful Ikhlas General Berhad, two takaful operators. Its digital transformation is a significant first for the company, whose subsidiaries previously operated independently without a shared digital platform. Agents in its takaful business units needed more digital tools to stay in touch with customers. These companies serve over 2 million Malaysian customers with Shariah-compliant takaful products or insurance plans.

A group of takaful participants agrees to guarantee one another against loss or damage jointly. “We noticed that business that usually comes from agents had a significant impact when the pandemic struck,” Ariff recalls. “Typically, agents interact with clients face to face. They observe the client, determine their needs, offer solutions, etc. Nonetheless, they have been unable to provide their clients with the required services due to transportation constraints.

Empowering agents to acquire and better serve customers 

The decline in agent sales, which account for roughly 70% of premium income for the two Takaful IKHLAS units, gave MNRB Group the impetus to revamp its business model and become more adaptable. As one of its first initiatives, it developed a mobile application to provide agents access to all digital services in one place.

Because they needed more time to build a digital platform, the team collaborated with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to deploy a full suite of solutions. “Instead of negotiating with various businesses separately, we bought everything from HPE, including OEM licenses. Ariff claims that this simplified the process for them. “We completed the infrastructure in just two months and launched the first MVP (minimum viable product) a few months later, obtaining all required regulatory approvals. It facilitated our quick market entry and business capture.

The new “GO PartnerTM” app allows Takaful IKHLAS General’s 2,500 agents to quickly generate quotes, issue certificates, manage customer information, and more. It has enabled them to continue attracting and serving customers in any situation.

Bringing products closer to customers 

Furthermore, Takaful IKHLAS General recently made history by becoming Malaysia’s first takaful provider to introduce the GO ConnectTM open API platform. According to Ariff, “embedded takaful” is a strategy we are attempting to develop. Because of our open API platform, GO Connect, we can integrate our takaful products into the current ecosystem of digital players. Takaful IKHLAS General can distribute its products digitally due to its membership in this ecosystem, which opens up new revenue opportunities for the company.

Integrate it into Senang, an insurance technology platform. It is working on expanding its presence across a few more, including Qoala, another insurance technology provider. As a result of this, more Malaysians can now obtain protection products. Ariff observes that obtaining Takaful IKHLAS certificates through banks is still largely manual. “We’re developing digital applications for our bank partners in addition to our agents,” he adds.

Enabling integration with digital services providers

The MNRB Group developed GO Connect and went a Partner on a digital platform that connects all of its takaful subsidiaries for the first time. The new platform simplifies integration with third-party service providers while accelerating application development. MNRB Group selected the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform to quickly develop the GO Partner app and launch digital services for agents. 

At its core, the platform runs Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Resilient Storage on top of VMware. HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers and HPE Nimble Storage power the infrastructure, which was set up with help from HPE Pointnext Services and HPE partner CLL Systems. The combined solution provides MNRB Group businesses with a cutting-edge platform.

Capturing future opportunities 

MNRB Group hopes that agents can issue takaful certificates, educate prospective customers online, and evaluate and submit claims using the GO Partner app. In addition, the group intends to save time and money by digitizing the claims processing of its general and family takaful businesses and its direct sales channel through the Takaful IKHLAS website.

It is preparing to implement digital tools such as advanced data analytics and machine learning to analyze better and use customer data for marketing and customer acquisition.

How Digital Takaful Can Help Consumers in the Modern Age 

Digital takaful provides consumers with a simple and secure way to access the financial security provided by insurance and takaful. Digital Takaful enables customers to purchase and manage insurance policies more efficiently and effectively by utilizing digital technology. Customers can compare prices, purchase policies online, manage their accounts, and submit claims quickly, making finding coverage that meets their needs much more accessible.

Final Thought

How we approach takaful with digital technology has changed dramatically in the modern era. We can ensure that digital takaful is accessible to all and that we are better prepared to meet customers’ expanding needs by exploring new ways to improve it. The only way to ensure that takaful meets the needs of the twenty-first century is to embrace new technologies!

HPE ProLiant servers, storage, and networking solutions are all available from ICT Distribution Bangladesh. Our staff will provide our customers with the best service and assistance possible. So, what’s holding you back? Syed Adnan, our country manager, can be reached at syed.adnan@ictdistribution.net.