Search Results (8)

This paper investigates the factors of sustainability of the financial performance of Islamic insurance (Takaful) windows in Pakistan. A large body of literature has examined Takaful providers across many countries; however, there is little research on the dynamics of Takaful windows. This study uses an analytical approach to investigate the effects of various operational and financial measures on Takaful window performance. It is one of the earliest works to examine the profitability of Takaful windows with a dynamic PVAR model, providing new evidence on the peculiar financial forces in hybrid Islamic–conventional insurance frameworks. It explores the effects of the retention ratio, Wakalah fees, commission ratio, gross written contributions, and underwriting surplus on profitability, measured by return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). It uses annual data from 18 Pakistani Takaful window insurers, employs a panel vector autoregressive framework to capture dynamic interdependencies and endogeneity, and conducts a variance decomposition with impulse response analysis. The findings indicate that the retention ratio and underwriting surplus have significant positive effects on ROA, whereas Wakalah fees have a negative impact. In the case of ROE, the underwriting surplus and commission ratio are associated with positive effects; meanwhile, the retention ratio and gross written contributions are related to negative effects. Variance decomposition emphasizes the commission and retention ratios as the main sources of profitability, with Wakalah fees and underwriting surplus being insignificant. The regulators need to ensure proper fund separation and establish the most optimal rules regarding Wakalah fees. The operation of Takaful windows should focus on commission management and business retention strategies to enhance profitability and financial sustainability. The increase in the financial performance of Takaful windows contributes to the expansion of Shariah-compliant insurance, facilitating the financial inclusion of Muslim communities in mixed markets. Full article

As sustainability becomes a strategic priority across global financial services, its implementation in emerging insurance markets remains insufficiently understood. This study explores the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles within Saudi Arabia’s insurance sector, combining content analysis of corporate disclosures with qualitative insights from industry stakeholders. The research investigates how insurers embed ESG principles into their operations, the development of sustainable insurance products, and their perceived financial and regulatory implications. The findings reveal gradual progress in ESG integration, primarily driven by governance reforms aligned with national development agendas, while social and environmental dimensions remain comparatively underdeveloped. Stakeholders identify regulatory ambiguity, data limitations, and technical capacity as persistent barriers, but also point to increasing investor and consumer interest in sustainability-aligned offerings. This study offers policy and managerial recommendations to advance ESG principle adoption, emphasizing standardized disclosures, capacity-building, and product innovation. It contributes to the limited empirical literature on ESG principles in Middle Eastern insurance markets and highlights the sector’s potential role in promoting inclusive and sustainable finance. Full article

This study explores the key factors driving corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSR_DISC) by Takaful insurance companies (TKIs) in Saudi Arabia during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We use content analysis and follow an unweighted scoring method to score the CSR_DISC index. Based on a sample of 26 Saudi-listed TKIs, for the period 2020–2024, we employ Poisson panel and negative binomial panel models to examine the interdependent relationships between CSR_DISCs and a set of corporate governance factors. We find that Saudi TKIs increased their CSR_DISCs in their financial reporting during and after the COVID-19 crisis. These findings confirm that board and firm size have a significant and negative effect on corporate CSR_DISC. However, the number of independent board members and female directors positively affect the extent of CSR_DISCs. Finally, the size of the audit committee and the Shariah supervisory board, frequency of board meetings, and profitability do not affect CSR_DISCs. Full article

One of the fundamental components of internal controls, a whistleblowing system (WBS) is crucial for preventing fraud, addressing irregularities, and enhancing good governance. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of whistleblower disclosures on earnings management in Saudi Arabia’s Takaful Insurance (TKI) sector between 2017 and 2023. To this end, a whistleblowing index was constructed as a tool to evaluate the whistleblowing framework’s effectiveness. Using the Dynamic Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to account for endogeneity, it was found that most Saudi insurance companies increased their efforts to disclose information about whistleblowers, which significantly reduced earnings management practices. Specifically, the study concludes that the size of the audit committee (ACS) significantly and negatively affects how insurance businesses manage their earnings when a whistleblower system is in place. Additionally, there is a notable and adverse effect on earnings management from board size (BSZ), the percentage of non-executive independent members (PNIM), and Shariah board size (SBS). However, it was found that earnings management is unaffected by the frequency of board meetings (BMFR). This study adds to the body of knowledge by demonstrating how corporate governance enhances the effectiveness of the whistleblowing system. Full article

This study examines the influence of fraud disclosure (FR_DISC) in annual reports on the financial stability of Takaful insurance (TKI) in Saudi Arabia over the period of 2014 to 2022. Moreover, the current study aims to explore the mediating impact of Shariah board size in shaping this relationship using agency theory and examines whether the different Islamic governance attributes could affect this stability differently. Using the dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) approach to address the possibility of endogeneity, it was found that FR_DISC is significantly negatively related to the financial stability of a sample TKI. We also provide evidence that the larger the size of a Shariah board, the less FR_DISC affects TKI stability. Furthermore, significant negative influence of ownership concentration and the proportion of non-executives’ independent board members on the stability of insurance companies was also observed. Overall, our analysis reveals several significant challenges if accounting and whistleblowing are to contribute to financial stability. Full article

The study investigates the potential for takaful operators to collaborate with the government by using drones to identify victims in the event of a mass disaster. It is critical to emphasise that takaful operators are not part of the government agencies involved in the search and rescue (S&R) operations. Nevertheless, takaful operators are part of the critical chain in the risk management process because they are the parties that will issue compensation to victims if they are takaful participants (policyholders). Through semi-structured interviews, feedback on this issue was gathered from key informants who are experts in their fields. This study included 21 key informants: first responders to an emergency or disaster from Malaysian government agencies, forensic experts, takaful association, drone practitioners (including drone pilots, Vice President (VP) of drone consultation services, and the owner of a drone company), actuarial expert, Shariah experts, regulators (representatives from the central bank), takaful participants, and accounting expert. Findings indicate that the benefits of using drones to the takaful operators are undisputable. Yet, the associated costs of using the device are the main concerns to the industry players. The middle path is to have joint funds between the takaful industry and the government to pool the funds for the national disaster management agency to employ drones for DVI needs in the event of a disaster. Thus, the findings of this study will be useful to the government and takaful association when developing future policy and guidelines for the takaful industry. Furthermore, this research adds to the body of knowledge and provides a better understanding of the subject. Full article

The main objectives of this paper are to construct a new risk model for modelling the Hybrid-Takaful (Islamic Insurance) and to develop a computational procedure for calculating the associated ruin probability. Ruin probability is an important study in actuarial science to measure the level of solvency adequacy of an insurance product. The Hybrid-Takaful business model applies a Wakalah (agent based) contract for underwriting activities and Mudharabah (profit sharing) contract for investment activities. We consider the existence of qard-hasan facility provided by the operator (shareholder) as a benevolent loan for the participants’ fund in case of a deficit. This facility is a no-interest loan that will be repaid if the business generates profit in the future. For better investment management, we propose a separate investment account of the participants’ fund. We implement several numerical examples to analyze the impact of some key variables on the Takaful business model. We also find that our proposed Takaful model has a better performance than the conventional counterpart in terms of the probability of ruin. Full article

The takaful industry is searching for an optimal model for Islamic insurance operation, which has turned out to be a challenging task. This paper translates the abstract scientific knowledge accumulated in the optimal contracting literature into a simple, nontechnical, analytical framework to analyze alternative business models which could be used by regulators to align the best interest of shareholders and policyholders in the takaful industry. This paper shows that the wakalah–surplus-sharing hybrid serves as the optimal structure for takaful operation; in the presence of Akerlof’s (1982) gift-exchange, the wakalah fee reduces the adverse selection problem; and the wakalah fee could be used to protect infant takaful operators. Full article