Insurance marketplace PolicyStreet has gained an official nod of approval from Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) to offer Takaful and reTakaful products to the wider region.
Founded in 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, PolicyStreet initially began by aggregating insurance products in Malaysia. It gradually expanded its mandate by securing several licenses: a financial advisory license by Bank Negara Malaysia in 2019, allowing it to advise clients on financial matters (both conventional and Islamic), a general and reinsurance license from Labuan FSA in 2021 and an Australian Financial Services License granted by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission in December 2022, allowing it to underwrite and customize policies.
It offers insurtech solutions to corporate and retail consumers in Southeast Asia and Australia by working directly with over 40 life, general and Takaful providers globally.
With the latest authorization from Labuan FSA, PolicyStreet can undertake Islamic insurance and reinsurance transactions denominated in foreign currencies (i.e. non-ringgit businesses). It joins six other Labuan Takaful licensees.
“In line with our ongoing commitment to advancing purposeful and simple insurance solutions, the establishment of PolicyStreet’s Takaful and reTakaful window enables us to offer a broader selection of insurance solutions and proactively address the growing market need for Shariah compliant insurance solutions,” shared Yen Ming Lee, the co-founder and group CEO of PolicyStreet.
The company is hoping to ride on the double-digit growth the Takaful industry has been recording: new Family Takaful business grew 18.3% year-on-year in 2022 to RM10.06 billion (US$2.17 billion), while the General Takaful sector grew 12% over the same period, according to figures by Malaysian Takaful Association.
The Takaful and reTakaful license follows a Series B fundraising round led by Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional last June, which raised US$15.3 million, under Khazanah Nasional’s Dana Impak initiative, which brought PolicyStreet’s total funding raised to about US$24.04 million.