Sharia Compliant Insurance debuts in Coast

By Philip Mwakio

The first Sharia Compliant Insurance agency at the Kenyan Coast will be launched on April 19 in Mombasa. Al Wataniya Insurance Agency, which has begun operations, will be officially unveiled during a ceremony at the Mombasa Club on Tuesday.

The Agency chairman, Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed said they are an agency of Takaful Insurance of Africa, based in Nairobi.

"Just like Takaful – whose concept is based on the principle of self insurance, where individuals come together to cover each other, and the insurance company helps them to manage their risk as an agent – Al Wataniya is poised to revolutionise insurance at the Kenyan Coast," Mohamed who was flanked by Managing Director Ali Mohamed said.

"Al Wataniya Insurance Agency has come along way. Within the first five months since its inception, we have made inroads and endeared ourselves to both corporate and individual clients as our customer base takes a climb," he added.

Upright morals

The chairman reiterated that Al Wataniya Insurance Agency has a foundation of upright morals with business dignity and intergrity.

"Our service delivery is beyond the obvious, which you can get from our highly experienced staff," said the chairman.

Acquire policies

Al Wataniya Manager, Mr Joshua Mongare Omagwa pointed out the difference between normal insurance and Takaful insurance.

Conventional insurance requires the insurance firm to take over the risk. But in the Takaful model, the firm only acts as an agent of the participants in managing their risk.

"We have been able to make grounds and have clients from a cross section of the general Mombasa populace both Muslims and Christians coming forward to acquire insurance policies," Omagwa said.