Solidarity by Name, and by Nature: Shari’ah-Compliant Insurance Group that is Aiming to be Top of the Tree

Family-owned and Islamic-compliant group has hardly paused for breath since its inception in 2012.

Family-owned Solidarity Group Holding, founded and brought to scale in Egypt in 2012, is a leading regional Islamic-compliant financial services group focusing on insurance and related products.

The initial company was sold for an attractive multiple. In 2015, it became a takaful and merged with Solidarity Jordan. (A takaful is an insurance system that complies with Shari’ah laws, in which money is pooled and invested.)

There have been significant merger synergies, including Yarmouk’s life license. Solidarity Jordan is now one of the top three insurers in Jordan.

In 2016, Takaful Co was founded and brought to scale in Malaysia. Solidarity exited its stake in MAA Malaysia via a sale to Zurich insurance — at five times the book value, in a deal worth $125m.

Solidarity Group acquired Al Ahlia insurance company through a public offer and became the major shareholder of a merger publicly-listed insurer in Bahrain.

In 2017, Solidarity Group concluded the merger between Solidarity General Takaful and Al Ahlia. Post-merger, the company rebranded as Solidarity Bahrain, one of the top three insurers in Bahrain.

In 2021, the merger between Solidarity Saudi and Al Jazira Takaful concluded. The resulting company is a major player with a balanced life and general takaful portfolio

In 2022, a second merger transaction in Bahrain was concluded. Post-merger, Solidarity is one of the top insurers in Bahrain. Publicly listed, investment-grade rated, and with a profitable insurance portfolio.

In 2023, Solidarity Bahrain acquired Al Hilal Life; that merger is expected to be completed later this year. It is poised to become a prominent player in the takaful industry, specifically in the realms of general and life insurance.

This year, Solidarity Group sold its 7.05 percent ownership of AlJazira Takaful to Bank AlJazira. After the transaction, Solidarity exited the KSA market. The company is now looking to expand into new markets.

Solidarity’s mission is to operate and strategically invest in the Mena and Asia regions in companies that provide a range of Shari’ah-compliant Islamic insurance products.

The group’s takaful model:

• SGH entities follow the Wakala Model
• Shareholders’ and policyholders’ fund – maintained and reported separately
• Shareholders’ fund receives mudarib share for the insurance assets invested on behalf of participants’ funds

Group insurance products include motor, medical, home, personal accident, travel, and life.

Insurance operations (oversight and monitoring) include insurance portfolio optimisation, overall underwriting strategy, group-level re-insurance, claim ratio, actuarial review and solvency, key relationships and account (acquisition / renewal). Also catered for are financial investments (strategy, monitoring and execution), policy framework, asset-class allocation, trading and settlement, and liquidity management.

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