Takaful Malaysia going paperless

KUALA LUMPUR: The country's first Islamic insurance operator, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd, expects to invest an additional RM1-2 million by the end of this year to fully automate its paperless operation, said managing director Datuk Hassan Kamil.

This focus underpinned Takaful Malaysia's plans to boost its operational efficiency and productivity when the system takes centre stage nationwide.

"So far, 60% of our workload has been successfully automated from the traditional paper-based processing to being paperless, with the remainder under way. We have so far spent RM3 million on the technology to handle critical workloads when dealing with claims payout, certificate servicing, underwriting and quotation issuance."

The firm launched the advanced document management system (DMS) with its partner Serial Data Sdn Bhd last Friday.

Hassan said the technology, marketed by Serial Data, integrates expertise from two software solutions – ReadSoft and Onbase – that are engaged for data capturing solution and enterprise content management respectively.

"ReadSoft provides document process automation solution, our staff will be able to scan through all incoming documents," said Hassan, adding that the OnBase software would then effectively collect, match and route all underwriting applications into the system.

He said the system is expected to reduce its paper workload by 50% as a large quantity of documents, amounting 10,000 copies, are handled on a daily basis.

"It will effectively manage manpower as less staff would be required to take on specific tasks," he added, expressing confidence that the system would reduce expenditure of up to RM1 million annually in the long run.

Considering a significant number of local institutions, including government departments, have yet to invest in similar technologies, Hassan said the online system will not affect ongoing operations. But, he stressed that potential disadvantages would arise when dealing with legal proceedings in the local courts.

Although certain courts have accepted digital documentation, Takaful Malaysia officers would still be required to submit paper documents as proof of evidence in certain cases.

Asked on the impact of the economy on the insurance sector, Hassan reiterated there had been mixed prospects due to economic uncertainties in the past.

"Insurance is proven to be recession-proof because there are always people who need to buy insurance despite economic conditions."

Takaful Malaysia also works closely with the Malaysian International Islamic Finance Centre, an initiative by Bank Negara Malaysia, to promote Islamic financial products and services worldwide, with Lembaga Tabung Haji being the ultimate holding entity.