Discovery Health members can now have their health administered in a sharia scheme at no extra cost and with no impact on their benefits, according to TimesLIVE.
“In collaboration with a sharia consultant and Islamic scholars, we have learned that a majority of the SA Muslim population is uninsured,” said Farzana Baba, head of health product development at Discovery Health, “with pockets of the community who have remained without medical scheme cover because, until now, they had no option of accessing a sharia-compliant medical scheme arrangement.”
She said there were several local and global investment houses creating sharia-compliant products to cater for the growing need of the Muslim community and to those ascribing to to the sharia principals.
“Now SA can also offer access to a wider range of sharia-compliant financial products, including a sharia-compliant arrangement on the Discovery Health Medical Scheme.”
With 33 plan options on offer, members can select the cover that best suits them and have their funds managed in accordance with the principles of the sharia law, regardless of their chosen health plan.
Leading Islamic scholars lead the way
Discovery Health’s sharia-compliant arrangement is the product of extensive collaboration with experts and scholars over the past two years.
The scholars, including Mufti Ahmed Suliman, Mufti Yusuf Suliman and Mufti Zaid Haspatel, serve on sharia boards locally and internationally and have been instrumental in developing Islamic financial products in SA.
“The introduction of this arrangement is a huge success story for our Muslim community,” said Mufti Suliman.
Alignment to Takaful principles
Discovery Health has worked closely with the sharia advisory committee to ensure the Takaful principles on which the sharia-compliant arrangement is based, is implemented in a manner consistent with the Medical Schemes Act.
“Sharia-compliant financial arrangements must meet the requirements found in Islamic commercial law and the broad principles of Islam. In formulating the arrangement, we needed to ensure that the Discovery Health Medical Scheme sharia-compliant arrangement was strictly aligned to Takaful principles.
“This meant ensuring no interest is earned or paid to a member at any stage and removing an ambiguity in contracts entered into by members, protecting their interests and assuring them that investments will be managed in a sharia-compliant manner. Takaful is an Arabic term which means ‘guaranteeing each other’,” says Suliman.
The Discovery Health Medical Scheme sharia-compliant arrangement excludes investments in companies involved in non-sharia compliant activities such as products or services related to conventional banking, insurance and financial services, gambling, alcoholic beverages, and non-halaal food products. The externally appointed sharia advisory committee ensures strict adherence to these requirements.
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