Islamic insurance (takaful): demand and supply in the UK

Purpose – This paper aims to examine empirically whether there is a real demand for takaful products among Muslims in the UK, and to assess the awareness about takaful insurance and its main principles among UK Muslim communities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses empirical data collected via an online questionnaire. Findings – The study shows that the survey respondents are likely to buy car, health, home and home contents insurance if the same cover is offered as conventional insurance and if prices are competitive. The paper also shows that there is quite a lack of awareness about takaful insurance and its main principles among UK Muslim communities, and that most respondents are only aware of the riba and maysir concepts. It also showed that about half the respondents are not sure whether takaful insurance is in accordance with Islam. The majority of the respondents prefer to get takaful products via banking channels rather than from independent takaful institutions. Not surprisingly, the majority of respondents agreed to the use of Arabic terms for the Islamic insurance to show that these are Islamic products and to differentiate them from conventional alternatives in order to attract more Muslim participants. Practical implications – This findings presented in this paper would encourage more banks in the UK to develop takaful products to target the rapid increase in Muslim populations in the UK and increase the demand for Islamic insurance products. Some promotion strategies may be needed to increase the customers' awareness of the existing takaful products and, more importantly, to their compliance to the Shariah law. Despite the fact that there is an obvious preference among the survey participants towards using Arabic terms in takaful products, one could argue for the financial benefits of introducing these Islamic insurance products to non-Muslim customers where Arabic terms are avoided but with the explanations of the main concept of takaful products. Originality/value – The paper examines empirically (via an online questionnaire) whether there is a real demand for takaful products among Muslims in the UK. © 2013, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.