KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s takaful industry continues its upward trajectory, disbursing a record RM10.2 billion in benefits to certificate holders in 2024 — a 16.73% jump from the previous year. The significant increase reflects growing consumer confidence in Islamic insurance as a core pillar of financial security and social protection.
This surge in payouts, the highest on record for the industry, aligns with the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA)’s Hijrah27 transformation agenda, which focuses on sustainable growth and value-based intermediation. Family Takaful led the way, accounting for 77.37% of total benefits paid, amounting to RM7.89 billion. General Takaful contributed RM2.31 billion.
The industry’s growth is underpinned by increasing uptake. In 2024, nearly one million (993,393) new Family Takaful certificates were issued, lifting the total number of in-force certificates to 6.69 million. This helped sustain a penetration rate of 19.57%—a notable achievement given Malaysia’s population growth of 700,000 during the same period.
“RM10.2 billion in payouts is not just a number—it reflects the trust placed by millions of Malaysians in takaful as a reliable safety net,” said Wan Saifulrizal Wan Ismail, Interim Chairman of the MTA. “It also affirms our commitment to the social and ethical goals outlined in Maqasid al-Shariah.”
From a business performance lens, the Family Takaful segment saw a 1.48% increase in new business gross contributions, rising to RM9.73 billion. Business in-force contributions also strengthened, increasing by 7.2% to RM9.62 billion. Over a three-year horizon (2022–2024), the average annual payout increase stood at RM1.54 billion—almost 400% higher than the RM393.34 million average recorded between 2019–2021.
The agent network expanded in tandem, with 26,714 new Family Takaful agents registered in 2024, bringing the total number of agents to 92,866. Agents’ share of new business rose to 25.56%, while Bancatakaful continued its dominance at 52.05%.
In the General Takaful space, gross written contributions climbed 8.46% to RM5.91 billion, led by strong demand for motor takaful, which made up 68.77% of total contributions. The uptick in fire takaful—up 7.27% to RM1 billion—also pointed to broader awareness of property risk, spurred in part by recent public incidents.
Digitisation efforts are also beginning to bear fruit. Internet sales channels accounted for 6.58% of business in 2024, up from 5.79% the year prior. “Making takaful more accessible is a top priority,” Wan Saifulrizal added. “This is where technology, collaboration, and public awareness converge.”
Social impact remained a core pillar of the industry’s mandate. In the first half of 2024 alone, RM31.19 million in zakat was channelled towards value-based development initiatives. This figure represents more than 60% of the total zakat disbursed in 2023, a strong indicator of takaful’s role in advancing the broader objectives of Shariah.
As the industry enters a new fiscal cycle, stakeholders appear aligned in their vision: to enhance protection, deepen inclusion, and scale the role of takaful as Malaysia’s foremost social safety net.
