Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad clinches Fintech - Life Insurance Award

PruBSN Aman, the first mobile app in Malaysia to offer crowd-funding, community-based mutual takaful protection and khairat benefits.

Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad (PruBSN), Malaysia’s leading takaful operator, clinched the Fintech - Life Insurance award at the recently concluded Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards, presented by Singapore Business Review. 

In its third year, the awards laud exceptional companies that have successfully pioneered ground-breaking IT products and solutions, as well as innovative technology projects in their respective industries to support Malaysia’s fast-growing economy. 

PruBSN has digitalised traditional takaful processes by enabling participants to perform end-to-end functions such as enrolment, nomination, claims submission and profile maintenance via its one-of-a-kind mobile app, PruBSN Aman. Through the app, users can also subscribe to khairat service, make contributions, and handle funeral arrangements quickly and seamlessly. 

PruBSN Aman was launched following a study conducted by the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) on the notion of the khairat scheme. The study found that rising funeral expenses had resulted in an emerging awareness for the need to plan ahead for one’s own final journey in life. It also found that the khairat fund, traditionally managed by the mosque and sustained via contributions from the community in the area or kariah members, faced challenges such as insufficient funding and escalating costs.

PruBSN Aman facilitates mutual assistance amongst the community whereby participants will contribute to the coverage of another participant whilst being covered with a benefit of up to RM10,000 should an unfortunate event occur. This model is the first of its kind in Malaysia’s Takaful industry and fosters increased transparency in how participants’ funds in the mutual account are being utilised.

“In the occurrence of death, your nominee will only need to connect to our partner MyAngkasa Mukmin, an established funeral service provider, whose purpose is to help with end-to-end funeral arrangements for its Muslim participants in accordance to Shariah laws. With PruBSN Aman, we are raising the level of convenience and positive impact to not just the individual but also the community at large,” PruBSN Chief Executive Officer, Wan Saifulrizal Wan Ismail explained. 

Aside from pre-arranged funeral services, participants can also access information on their funding and claims status via the app dashboard, as well as monthly/annual statements to ensure transparency amongst the community.

Each participant who subscribes to PruBSN Aman will pay for an advanced contribution of RM120, of which RM30 will be taken for Wakalah fee whilst the balance of RM90 will go into the mutual account. Claims amount will only be charged to the mutual account when there is any death amongst the participants.

Whilst the PruBSN Aman is endorsed as a Shariah-based product, its ethical community togetherness feature is universal, and the plan is available for everyone of all religions and beliefs. 

Wan Saifulrizal continued, “Through digitalisation of the management of the khairat fund, PruBSN Aman has made the process simple, transparent and affordable. This would attract the younger, tech-savvy generation and serve to complement the existing traditional khairat service offered by mosques.”. 

“The concept of peer-to-peer (P2P) and mutual assistance adopted by PruBSN Aman could also be replicated to other insurance or takaful products, proving the dynamism of a product concept that is both flexible and effective in promoting mutual assistance to the society by helping each other,” he added.

Watch our interview with Wan Saifulrizal Wan Ismail, Chief Executive Officer, and know more about their winning project.