XL Group to Offer Shariah Complaint Insurance Coverage

XL Group has launched Shariah compliant insurance cover for large corporate and middle market clients. Initially it will focus on property cover, with a maximum capacity of up to $300 million. The coveragevfinacntargets markets worldwide, with the exception of the U.S. and Canada. XL has established a binder relationship with Cobalt, an underwriting agency specifically created to provide Shariah compliant commercial insurance and reinsurance products, and assigned a team of underwriters to focus on these specific covers.

Jason Harris, chief executive international P&C insurance for XL Group said the carrier expects a significant portion of the business to come in through the London market but its network has clients in more than 140 countries that are represented as well.

In 2011 it was estimated that total global Islamic financial assets stood at $1.631 trillion. The global Islamic financial services industry is valued at $1.357 trillion and continues to defy the global economic stagnation. The Sukuk asset class grew by 77 percent to $85 billion in 2011 alone and the growth in the Islamic banking industry was put at 16.4 percent for the year.