Tʼazur Company

Tʼazur Company was a Bahrain-based provider of takaful, or Sharia-compliant insurance, serving both individuals and businesses. It was incorporated in Manama as a closed joint-stock company and operated under a licence and regulatory supervision from the Central Bank of Bahrain. Its business covered family takaful and general takaful, positioning the company within the Gulf’s Islamic insurance sector rather than the conventional commercial-insurance market. The company was established in 2007 by Unicorn Investment Bank after obtaining a takaful licence from Bahrain’s central bank. Its founding investor base included participants from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, reflecting the company’s regional orientation from the outset. Tʼazur was intended to provide insurance products structured around Islamic principles, including the mutual-risk-sharing model associated with takaful. Tʼazur publicly introduced its family and general takaful product range in Bahrain in July 2009. Family takaful generally addresses protection and savings needs for individuals and households, while general takaful covers non-life risks affecting people, property, vehicles, businesses, and other assets. The available reference material does not provide a complete product catalogue, detailed market-share data, or later operating results, but the company’s stated scope included products for both retail and commercial customers. The business also expanded into Qatar. In September 2009, the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority authorised Tʼazur to conduct general takaful business within the Qatar Financial Centre. This made it the first Islamic general insurance company licensed by that regulator, according to the cited reference material. The Qatar operation later entered run-off and was included in the transaction that transferred Tʼazur’s Bahrain business and Qatar branch to Solidarity Bahrain. In August 2021, Solidarity Bahrain announced its intention to acquire Tʼazur’s Bahrain operations and its Qatar branch in run-off in exchange for newly issued shares in Solidarity Bahrain. The transaction did not include Tʼazur’s 70 percent interest in Tʼazur Takaful Insurance Company K.S.C. in Kuwait. The merger became effective on 27 January 2022. Following that transaction, Tʼazur’s Bahrain operating business no longer functioned as an independent insurer, and the brand is therefore treated as defunct for encyclopedia purposes. The available sources do not establish the subsequent status of the Kuwait investment or whether the Tʼazur name continued there independently.

Tʼazur Company emerged in Bahrain during the expansion of Islamic financial services in the Gulf. Unicorn Investment Bank founded the company in 2007 after it received a takaful licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain. Tʼazur was incorporated in Manama as a closed joint-stock company, with founding investors drawn from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The structure and investor base gave the company a regional, rather than purely domestic, orientation. The company’s business model was based on takaful, an Islamic insurance arrangement in which participants contribute to a pool used to meet covered risks, subject to the applicable product and governance structure. Tʼazur’s intended customer base included individuals, families, and businesses. Its product scope was divided broadly between family takaful and general takaful, corresponding to personal protection and savings-related needs on one hand and non-life insurance risks on the other. In July 2009, Tʼazur announced the launch of its family and general takaful offerings in Bahrain. This represented the beginning of its publicly marketed insurance activities in its home country. The company subsequently pursued a regulated presence in Qatar. In September 2009, the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority authorised it to conduct general takaful business in the Qatar Financial Centre. The authorisation was notable because Tʼazur was identified as the first Islamic general insurance company licensed by that authority. Tʼazur therefore operated across at least two Gulf markets: Bahrain, where it was headquartered and conducted its main business, and Qatar, where it maintained a branch. The Qatar branch later entered run-off, meaning that it was focused on managing existing obligations and policies rather than writing a normal flow of new business. The available reference material does not provide enough information to reconstruct the company’s full underwriting performance, distribution arrangements, workforce, leadership, or detailed product terms. The company’s independent operating history ended through a transaction with Solidarity Bahrain. In August 2021, Solidarity Bahrain announced its intention to acquire Tʼazur’s Bahrain operations, together with the Qatar branch in run-off, in exchange for newly issued shares in Solidarity Bahrain. The arrangement expressly excluded Tʼazur’s 70 percent ownership interest in Tʼazur Takaful Insurance Company K.S.C. in Kuwait. This distinction is important: the transaction concerned Tʼazur’s Bahrain business and the associated Qatar branch, not necessarily every investment connected with the Tʼazur name. The merger was completed and became effective on 27 January 2022. Tʼazur’s Bahrain operations and Qatar branch were thereby combined with Solidarity Bahrain. On the basis of that completed integration, Tʼazur is no longer treated as an active standalone Bahrain insurer. The available sources do not document a continuing corporate identity, a successor brand strategy, or the later status of the Kuwaiti investment in sufficient detail. Its historical significance rests primarily on its role as a regulated Gulf takaful provider and on its early entry into the Qatar Financial Centre’s Islamic general-insurance market.

• 2022

  Merger becomes effective

  [1]Tʼazur Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The transfer and merger of Tʼazur’s Bahrain operations and Qatar branch into Solidarity Bahrain became effective on 27 January.

• 2021

  Solidarity Bahrain announces acquisition plan

  [1]Tʼazur Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Solidarity Bahrain announced plans to acquire Tʼazur’s Bahrain operations and its Qatar branch in run-off through an issue of Solidarity Bahrain shares.

• 2009

  Bahrain product launch

  [1]Tʼazur Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Tʼazur announced its family and general takaful product range for the Bahrain market.

• 2009

  Qatar Financial Centre authorisation

  [1]Tʼazur Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority authorised Tʼazur to conduct general takaful business in the Qatar Financial Centre.

• 2007

  Company founded and licensed in Bahrain

  [1]Tʼazur Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Unicorn Investment Bank founded Tʼazur after the company received a takaful licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain.

A regional Gulf Islamic-insurance provider focused on Sharia-compliant family and general takaful for retail and commercial customers.

• Islamic life and family insurance · 2009

  Family takaful

  Tʼazur’s family takaful business addressed personal and household protection needs through insurance structured according to Islamic takaful principles. The company announced family takaful as part of its Bahrain product range in 2009. The available source does not identify individual plans, benefits, distribution channels, or whether particular products combined protection with savings.

• Islamic general insurance · 2009

  General takaful

  General takaful formed the company’s non-life insurance offering for individuals and businesses. It was launched in Bahrain in 2009 and was also the line authorised for Tʼazur’s Qatar Financial Centre operation. The source material does not provide a complete breakdown of covered risks or specific policies, but the business was presented as serving commercial and personal insurance requirements.

• 2021

  Transfer of Bahrain and Qatar operations to Solidarity BahrainM&A

  Background

  Solidarity Bahrain sought to combine Tʼazur’s Bahrain insurance operations with its own business. Tʼazur’s Qatar branch was already in run-off, while the company’s Kuwaiti investment was outside the proposed transaction.

  Action taken

  Solidarity Bahrain announced an acquisition structured in exchange for newly issued Solidarity Bahrain shares. The transaction covered Tʼazur’s Bahrain operations and Qatar branch in run-off, but excluded Tʼazur’s 70 percent stake in Tʼazur Takaful Insurance Company K.S.C. in Kuwait.

  Aftermath

  The merger became effective on 27 January 2022, ending Tʼazur’s operation as an independent Bahrain insurer.

  Source

1. 1Tʼazur Companyen.wikipedia.org