Al Fajer Re case study

Eurobase Insurance Services with its Synergy software helps Al Fajer Re to become a leading force in Retakaful and Shari’ah compliant reinsurance products.

When Al Fajer Re opened for business at the beginning of 2008, it had the distinction of being the first Retakaful Company to be licensed in Kuwait. Now, with paid-up capital of over $170 million, and an A.M. Best rating of B++, Al Fajer Re is one of the world’s most financially secure global Retakaful companies. With strong support from institutional investors, Dubai Banking Group and Global Investment House, it is well on track to becoming a leading force in Retakaful and Shari’ah compliant reinsurance products and services.

Recognised as the Best New Takaful Provider by the Middle East Forum at its awards ceremony in 2009, Jan Davis, CEO of Al Fajer Re, gave credit to the combined experience and work ethos of his senior management team and staff, commenting: “They have an in-depth understanding of the different cultural, judicial and administrative practices and systems within the regions in which we operate. The award reflected the culmination of the huge efforts made by the staff which continues to be dynamic, creative and constantly seeking to improve our products and services.”

Al Fajer Re was privileged that as a brand-new start-up, it was able right at the outset to bring together such a high-calibre team and benefit from such a strong work ethos. It was also fortunate that unlike other reinsurers, it was not held back by the need to re-purpose existing IT systems – it could choose freely from a number of tried and tested solutions.

“Being located in Kuwait provides us with an important access to the Middle Eastern business community and is a perfect platform from which to offer our specialised and technical underwriting skill sets. From the very beginning, we have had ambitious plans to grow our business significantly throughout the MENA, Asian and European regions, while adhering to recognised robust reinsurance fundamentals and building very high levels of client loyalty. An effective IT system was essential to helping achieve these objectives, and I am pleased to say that we have realised this in the Synergy from Eurobase,” Jan Davis says.

Al Fajer Re required a solution that could handle its complete end-to-end business administration, with the flexibility to cater for both Takaful and conventional business lines in a single integrated system. It also had to be infinitely scalable to support the Company’s growth and diversification, enforce increasingly stringent compliance and solvency requirements – and offer very fast deployment. Synergy from Eurobase satisfied all these criteria.

The decision in favour of Synergy was underpinned by Eurobase’s detailed knowledge and understanding of Takaful and conventional reinsurance and how this should be applied to Al Fajer Re. This paid off handsomely during the project which was delivered on time, and importantly within budget, in just a few weeks.

“It helped a great deal that Synergy covered almost all of what we needed, virtually off-the-shelf, so modifications were minimal and straightforward,” said Shitij Tejpal, IT Manager for Al Fajer Re. “An important consideration was that we invested time in making sure the project was very well planned. Al Fajer Re and Eurobase worked closely together to ensure an effective deployment, so that loading data, installation, training and the subsequent going live all went very smoothly. The system quickly became a well-established operational and business tool which is at the heart of how we run our operation.”

Synergy was developed by Eurobase to support reinsurance companies across underwriting, claims, accounts and retrocession – and, in particular, to deliver significant business advantage. This takes the form of increased productivity, improved customer retention and greater return on capital.

Productivity is improved given that the reinsurance system is fully integrated, so all of the key business processes are supported through simple, efficient workflows, with maximum automation and management control. By making key information easily accessible, Al Fajer Re and its customers can make mutually beneficial, timely decisions. By monitoring performance against key economic indicators – using real-time management information and proactive alerts configured to business requirements – the system can support the company to achieve its targets.

Synergy provides real-time monitoring of risk exposure, with automatic exception flagging, providing access to critical business information for users, their customers and business partners. Based on multiple levels of secure authorisation, the system ensures maximum user control while offering powerful graphics and reporting functions that deliver a clear understanding of the reinsurance business profile.

All of Al Fajer Re’s products, services and investments are subject to independent supervision by a Shari’ah Supervisory Board to ensure they are in accordance with Shari’ah principles. The company’s aim is to build a strong, well-diversified portfolio with sustainable long-term returns under Islamic principles.

Currently, the company transacts lines of business on a treaty and facultative basis in property, marine, accident and motor but it plans, in the future, to expand further with a family Retakaful division, and Synergy will be able to scale to handle this new product line. Another benefit is that as Al Fajer Re adds new geographies and branch locations, the system can easily accommodate a growing number of users.

Jan Davis is very aware that customer service is a key differentiator in any line of business and he is confident that Al Fajer Re will rank within the top tier of Global Retakaful reinsurers. Current estimates are that the Takaful market will grow at around 20% per year in the medium term, attracting established reinsurers into the market, as well as new entrants – and Al Fajer Re is determined to win its fair share.

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