How Noor Takaful is changing the narrative about insurance

Noor Takaful Insurance Limited is changing the narrative, and making people see insurance as an investment that offers a win-win situation to all that is involved. This was reinforced recently when Noor Takaful celebrated a one week-long activation campaign in the ancient City of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

As an alternative to conventional insurance, takaful operates on the Sharia principles of empathy and fairness, engendering the concept of mutual cooperation where members contribute money into a pool system to guarantee each other, such that claims made by participants are paid out of the takaful fund. These benefits and more were what led the Noor Takaful Insurance Limited team to bring people into the light of win-win insurance that covers health, life, and general insurance needs.

The campaign, a three-part activity, included a visit to the palace of the Olubadan of Ibadan land, , Oba Moshood Olalekan Balogun Ali; a workshop session titled “Takaful: Next Frontiers for Insurance” which involved the experts from various walks of life; and a roadshow activation in major markets to ensure that the torch of enlightenment reached a huge number of people.

The campaign kicked off with a visit to the palace of the Olubadan of Ibadan land, where His Royal Highness and his subjects received the Noor Takaful leadership team to the ancient city. The king, in appreciation of their respect for tradition, treated them to a dignified traditional welcome of songs, drums, and dance. This created a friendly atmosphere that allowed for briefings on the reasons for their visit and the benefits of takaful to all present.

The next port of call was Mauve 21 in Mauve Lounge & Restaurant, MKO Abiola Way, Oluyole, Ibadan, where the intellectual muscles were flexed at the workshop session. Focusing on the present and the future of insurance in Nigeria, the session tagged “Takaful: Next Frontiers for Insurance” provided an opportunity for stakeholders, Islamic scholars, industry professionals, and academia to provide insights and deepen conversations around takaful. The crux of the discussion was on the ethics of takaful as the only insurance that offers enormous benefits to all members of the society. Present at the session were the Chief Imam of Oluyole Central Mosque, Alhaji Mudasir Bada, Chairman, Oyo State Muslim Community, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, Chairman, Vanguard Pharmacy Limited, Alhaji Taofiq Odukoya, Rector, College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM), Dr Yeside Abiodun Oyetayo and Chief Operating Officer, Citiserve Limited, Dr Jubril Salaudeen who moderated the session.

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Flagging off the session, the chairman, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Muhtar Bakare, in his opening remarks, maintained that the purpose of the workshop was to enlighten the people about the untapped benefits inherent in takaful. To buttress this, he stated that “The alternative finance sector of which takaful insurance is a major sub-sector, presents credible routes to stability through alternative models of economic management and alternative models of delivery of financial services to create more sustainable, more equitable and more inclusive growth”. Living up to its expectations as a meeting of intellectuals gathered to engage in robust discussions, the credibility of takaful was validated by Barrister Rasheed Attah, who represented the chairman, Oyo State Muslim Community, Kunle Sanni, as the Keynote Speaker. He allayed the fears of many who might be doubting the credibility of the insurance scheme by stating that “it is being regulated by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM)”.

Aminu Tukur, vice-chairman, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, lent his voice to the illuminating discourse stating the company’s persistence to continually drive massive awareness for takaful till it becomes widely accepted across the religious divide in the country.

Broadening the discourse to women empowerment and religion, Rilwan Sunmonu,the managing director, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, dismissed the notion that takaful was only available for Muslims, citing that a recent record revealed over 35 percent of their customers are non-Muslims.

Yeside Oyetayo, rector of CIFM, advised that priority should be given to women with a focus on products that will contribute enormously to driving financial inclusion. She supported her view with statistics that “67.8 percent of women in Oyo State are financially excluded. This is quite alarming because Ibadan women are known to be enterprising”. If anything, her last statement was proof that the Noor Takaful team’s idea of market activation was apt as she advised on the “… need to have insurance provided for women. In doing this, you need to do market research to find out what they truly need rather than coming up with generic products”.

Capping off the campaign, a two-day market activation involving road shows to major markets in Ibadan was the talk of the town. The ancient city was painted in the brand colours of Noor Takaful with the paraphernalia of brand activation in full gear as members of the team dressed in branded t-shirts and armed with fliers and educating people on the benefits of takaful over conventional insurance. Just as a farmer plants seeds and continues to nurture them for growth, the future of takaful is bright, especially, with its gospel of cooperation and win-win that spreads the gains of mutual benefits.