Awareness of takaful products among muslims in selected area of Thailand

Thailand is one of the countries where takaful has been introduced for over 10 years. Even though the takaful industry in Thailand is successful in growth, the growth is not dramatic compared to other countries. The purpose of this research was to examine the level of awareness, understanding and perceptions of Muslims in selected areas of Pattani province in Thailand. In addition, this study also aimed to investigate whether the awareness of takaful products is influenced by demographic factors, understanding and perceptions. The result showed that more than half of the respondents disagree that they are aware of takaful products. Nevertheless, the result also illustrated that the Muslims possess fair knowledge and understanding of the takaful mechanism. However, the level of perception is slightly negative. The study found positive correlation between understanding and awareness. However, the relationship is not significant. Furthermore, the result also showed a positive correlation between perception and awareness but is not significant. In addition, the study found that demographic factors such as gender, age, and occupation show no significant differences among the respondents, while the level of income and the level of education show significant differences among the respondents. This study contributes to the availability of literature in the takaful industry in general. For managerial aspects, it suggests that the takaful insurer should apply all necessary methods in marketing strategies and other endeavours in order to make sure that Muslims, who are the main target market of takaful products, have high awareness,
understanding and positive perception of the products.