Muslims in India develop mutual health insurance scheme as alternative to takaful
Photo for illustrative purposes only. Doctor examining a boy with a stethoscope in Hasanpur, Haryana, India
Islamic finance pioneers and like-minded community leaders in India have come together to introduce an alternative product to formal takaful, which doesn’t exist in the country.
A not-for-profit health assurance scheme, called Uplift Mutuals Biradaree, started in April this year at two of Mumbai’s Muslim-majority localities, Kurla and Malad. The scheme works on the model of mutual assurance, with certain features maintaining the values of Shariah-compliant finance.
“The mutual health assurance model by design works on the principles of takaful in which people contribute an agreed amount to a common pool to support each other and share risk,” Dr. Shariq Nisar, an Islamic finance academic and professional who helped develop the scheme, told Salaam Gateway.
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Syed Ameen Kader, White Paper Media