The Easing Of PPKM Is A Breath Of Fresh Air For The Sharia-Based Travel Insurance Business

Zurich logo. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT Zurich General Takaful Indonesia (Zurich Syariah) recorded growth of more than 40 percent in 2021. The company's performance also increasingly showed strengthening in the first quarter of 2022 which grew to 60 percent compared to the same period last year (YoY), with average growth an average of more than 30 percent across all distribution channels.

Zurich Syariah President Director Hilman Simanjuntak explained, apart from being supported by increasing public awareness of the importance of insurance during the pandemic, this growth was also driven by the performance of the Zurich Syariah travel insurance business line in line with the opening of international travel.

In the first quarter of 2022, the travel insurance business line showed the highest growth. The higher vaccination rates and the reopening of international travel have also increased public interest in planning trips.

"The achievement of the travel insurance business line in this quarter is a strong foundation for us to continue to innovate in presenting the best sharia insurance products and services with a consumer-centric approach," he said in a press release, Thursday, April 14.

After being held back by the pandemic for the past two years, the easing of travel restrictions is predicted to encourage high public interest in traveling.

Previously, a survey conducted by Zurich in December 2021 revealed that 85 percent of respondents plan to travel in the next six months.

Hilman said that the loosening of travel restrictions, both domestic and international, had a positive impact on the insurance industry, especially the use of travel insurance.

"This positive impact is very much felt in Zurich Syariah, especially after the Indonesian government reopened the organization of Umrah in January 2022. Zurich Syariah has protected more than 60 percent of the total Umrah trips of Indonesian pilgrims during the first quarter of 2022," he explained.

Furthermore, Zurich Syariah's optimism is not only based on positive signals from the movement of people's mobility and current economic activity. The experience of the community in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years has also had a major impact on awareness of the importance of protection and careful travel planning.

According to him, Zurich Syariah sees great potential in the travel insurance line, not only for worship trips but the tourism industry as a whole.

“The pandemic has opened many people's eyes to the importance of insurance. Interest in sharia protection is also increasing. Based on the Zurich survey in 2021, 85 percent of respondents knew about sharia insurance, and 81 percent were interested in sharia insurance products," he continued.

The findings from the survey show that Indonesians are quite aware of and understand the advantages of sharia insurance, with 67 percent of respondents knowing the difference between sharia insurance and conventional insurance, and 79 percent feeling that the principle of managing premiums (contributions) in a helpful manner is important.

“This year is a special year for the insurance industry after two years of facing various challenges in the midst of the pandemic situation. We are very excited to broaden public understanding and increase the penetration of sharia insurance in Indonesia. The Islamic insurance industry holds many opportunities for Zurich Syariah to strengthen its portfolio performance going forward,” concluded Hilman.