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The society in Malaysia now has a high awareness of hibah, especially takaful hibah. What does hibah mean? Hibah, in essence, refers to the voluntary giving from a giver to a recipient out of love and without expecting any form of compensation. Hibah is not included in the inheritance estate, and the recipient of hibah can have absolute ownership and use of the gifted property for themselves.
Important Things You Need to Know About Takaful Hibah
Asset planning is highly encouraged in Islam to ensure that heirs or the family left behind do not face financial difficulties. Additionally, hibah also aims to avoid disputes during the distribution of the inheritance.
Therefore, hibah is one of the encouraged instruments that allows you to effectively plan your finances and assets.
What Is Takaful Hibah?
Hibah Takaful, or conditional gift, is used by takaful companies as a method of disbursing takaful benefits upon the death of the takaful policyholder. Through hibah takaful, the distribution of takaful benefits is given to the nominated beneficiary in the hibah policy, following the death of the policyholder. Family members or other heirs cannot dispute the assets that have been gifted to the hibah recipient.
The Law of Takaful Hibah
The act of performing hibah (conditional gift) is recommended and encouraged in Islam. Takaful is defined as a mutual cooperation among individuals to provide mutual assistance and support to each other. It serves specific agreed-upon needs, such as providing compensation in the event of a mishap or addressing other financial needs.
The Shariah Advisory Council in its 24th meeting on 24th April 2002 determined that the takaful business model based on tabarru` (mutual contribution) and wakalah (agency) is permissible. Considering that the compensation paid is based on the concept of hibah, the Shariah Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia decided that takaful benefits will not form part of the deceased participant’s estate.
These benefits are also not subject to the debts of the deceased participant, similar to compensation received from the participant’s death, court claim awards, SOCSO benefits, and the like.
Pillars, Requirement of Takaful Hibah
Fundamentally, there are four pillars of Takaful Hibah:
- Donor of the hibah;
- Recipient of the hibah;
- Property or asset being gifted;
- Contractual agreement
In addition to the pillars of hibah, it is important to be aware of the conditions of hibah before proceeding. The following are the conditions of hibah that need to be followed for your reference and guidance.
| Requirements of Takaful Hibah | Description |
| Requirements of Donor |
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| Requirements of Recipient |
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| Requirements of Gifted Item/Asset |
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The Importance of Takaful Hibah: 5 Reasons Why It is Necessary
As mentioned above, the distribution of takaful hibah (gift) in Malaysia is not subject to inheritance distribution (harta pusaka) and Faraid law. Hibah can be given to anyone desired, whether heirs or non-heirs, and the hibah recipient becomes the absolute beneficiary of the compensation.
1. Income Replacement
The death of a key family member is a significant loss that can have a profound impact on the family. Such a loss indirectly results in the loss of income and financial support for the spouse, children, or elderly parents, halting their monthly expenses and livelihood.
Here is where the importance of takaful hibah comes in. The surviving family members do not need to seek additional employment to support the family or struggle financially. How can you determine the appropriate amount of hibah? In general, you can follow the following formula to determine the suitable hibah amount based on your income:
Single: [Monthly Income X 12 Months] X 3 Years = Takaful Hibah Value
Married: [Monthly Income X 12 Months] X 3 Years = Takaful Hibah Value
2. Debt Settlement
Islam emphasizes the importance of settling debts even after death. Therefore, it becomes a primary concern to address immediately after the passing of an individual. Small debts may be manageable by the heirs. However, it becomes problematic when it involves larger financial commitments such as business loans, personal loans, and others.
Such situations can burden the heirs. Although you may consider other options, such as:
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- Withdrawing savings from banks, ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputera), or unit trusts;
- Selling a car, selling a house, or any other assets you own; or
- Seeking assistance from other family members.
However, we all know that these are not easy tasks to accomplish. This is because:
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- Any cash assets, your primary residence, or car will be frozen by the bank;
- Transferring ownership (changing land title) or the process of buying and selling the deceased’s assets requires court authorization;
- You may not be able to sell the property or assets at a fair price due to the urgency of obtaining money within a short period.
Therefore, takaful hibah is the best solution to ensure that your loss does not burden your family or heirs with the debts left behind. The heirs can use the funds left through this hibah to settle all your existing debts and use any surplus to continue their normal lives temporarily.
3. Absolute Recipient, Non-Contestable
Unlike wills and inheritance distribution, takaful hibah is made out of love and without expecting any form of reciprocation, whether in the form of cash or assets. In other words, the named recipient becomes the absolute owner and cannot be contested. This helps to avoid disputes or conflicts over the assets left behind with other family members.
4. Easy Claims Process
In addition, claiming takaful hibah is also done easily without involving complex claims procedures. Takaful hibah can be considered as a liquid asset. This means that the claims process can be carried out more quickly and does not take a long time.
You do not need to engage lawyers or third parties to handle the distribution process on your behalf. Since hibah is a form of gift, the recipient will receive the full benefit without any rejection. In fact, some insurance companies also offer additional benefits to the beneficiaries, such as a goodwill benefit of RM2,000 in the event of the participant’s death.
5. Children’s Education Fund
It is your responsibility as parents to provide the best and quality education for your children. However, the increasing costs of education each year make it difficult for parents to send their children for higher education.
With takaful hibah, you can provide sufficient funds to cover the education expenses for your children, even if you are no longer with them at that time.
In essence, hibah plays a significant role and offers its own advantages. The gifted funds can be used by the beneficiaries for living expenses temporarily until they find alternative sources of income. Therefore, it is important to plan your finances properly.
Hibah takaful, fundamentally, plays a crucial role in protecting your family or beneficiaries in times of loss. If you haven’t started contributing and wish to gift hibah takaful to your family, visit the Qoala website for more information. Qoala is the best insurance platform in Malaysia that offers an easy, fast, and secure insurance purchasing process.
