In Burkina Faso, Islamic insurance has existed since the CRCA approved Coris Assurances Vie Burkina, announced on 7 February 2025: its Coris Assurances Takaful window offers family takaful protection and savings products under the 2019 CIMA regulation.
Ouagadougou within the CIMA area
Burkina Faso is among the fourteen signatories of the CIMA Treaty. The Regional Insurance Supervisory Commission grants and withdraws licences there, and it was this body that reviewed the Coris takaful application at its 116th ordinary session.
Coris Assurances Vie Burkina, the local pioneer
A subsidiary of the Coris Holding group founded in 2013, Coris Assurances Vie Burkina is described as the first Burkinabe insurer to offer sharia-compliant products. Its authorisation covers takaful operations in classes 18 to 23 under article 913 of the Code.
A window rather than a dedicated company
Coris did not create a separate company: it operates through a window called Coris Assurances Takaful after a licence extension. The CIMA regulation then requires takaful business to be kept apart from conventional activity, notably for contributions, investments and claims.
Family takaful: protection and savings
The announced range falls under the family takaful branch, with protection products and savings or investment plans. To understand how these contracts, close to life insurance, are built, see our page on family takaful insurance.
A market of seventeen insurers with low penetration
According to Middle East Insurance Review, the Burkinabe market has seventeen insurance companies and showed a penetration rate of 1.14% in 2021. A sharia-compliant offer therefore also targets households that have so far stayed away from conventional insurance.
What Book IX of the CIMA Code says
Regulation No. 003/CIMA/PCMA/PCE/2019 of 10 October 2019 created Book IX of the Code. It reserves the activity for public limited companies, separates general takaful from family takaful and, under article 903-4, lets the fund surplus go back to participants.
Managing on behalf of others: the operator's role
In a takaful contract, the insurer manages the participants' fund without owning it, often for a fee. Before signing with Coris, ask which model applies and what rate is charged, two notions detailed on our page about the wakala model.
Financial requirements for new entrants
Other Burkinabe insurers could follow, but a takaful operator must show announced minimum capital of three billion CFA francs. A licence extension, like the one Coris obtained, avoids setting up a new company and speeds up the arrival of products.
Retakaful and support from CICA-RE
Article 921 obliges operators to cede takaful risks to reinsurers licensed for takaful, unless a sharia supervisory committee agrees to other reinsurers. On 24 October 2024, CICA-RE and AlHuda CIBE held a practical webinar devoted to takaful and retakaful.
Property and motor: an offer still to be built
The sources consulted mention no general takaful product in Burkina Faso, whether for cars, homes or business assets. For these risks, compulsory third-party motor liability must still be bought from a licensed insurer, even a conventional one.
Sahel neighbours: where do they stand?
No takaful operator has been identified in the neighbouring Sahel countries, as our pages on Islamic insurance in Mali and Islamic insurance in Niger explain. The Coris experience is therefore a test case for the whole region.
Advice for families and the diaspora
A Burkinabe living abroad may want to protect relatives back home, subject to the residence conditions set by Coris. For pilgrimage or repatriation of remains, specific assistance is still needed, because the announced benefits concern protection and savings only.
Joining Coris Assurances Takaful step by step
- Make sure the product offered is actually sold under the CRCA-approved Coris Assurances Takaful window.
- Ask for the sharia committee's membership and the written opinion approving the chosen family takaful contract.
- Compare the contribution, the management fee and the operator's share of investment returns.
- Read the surplus clause to learn whether it is returned, reinvested or given to charitable causes.
- Name beneficiaries clearly and check the surrender conditions on the savings component.
- Keep certificates and annual statements to track your savings and support any future benefit claim.
How the price is built at a Burkinabe operator
| Component | Function | Drivers of variation |
|---|---|---|
| Donation to the fund (tabarru) | Funds mutual protection | Age, sum assured, state of health |
| Invested savings | Builds the participant's capital | Amount paid in and term |
| Wakala fee | Pays the managing window | Contractual rate |
| Profit sharing | Operator's share of investment income | Performance of halal assets |
| Fund surplus | May go back to participants | Claims experience for the year |
Supporting documents requested in Burkina Faso
- Burkinabe national identity card or passport
- Proof of residence
- Medical questionnaire and, depending on the sum assured, further tests
- Identity documents of the named beneficiaries
- Bank account details for direct debits
- Murabaha financing agreement if the cover secures a loan
Mistakes to avoid before signing
- Confusing the Coris Assurances Takaful window with Coris as a whole, which still writes conventional business too.
- Signing a so-called Islamic contract with another insurer without checking with the CRCA that it holds a licence extension.
- Overlooking the savings component: fees, minimum term and early surrender conditions all need careful reading.
- Believing family takaful covers a car or a house, when it belongs to the personal risks branch.
- Relying on a verbal commitment about surplus distribution that does not appear in the general terms.
Takaful in Burkina Faso: quick answers
Which insurer offers takaful in Burkina Faso?
Coris Assurances Vie Burkina, a Coris Holding subsidiary, received CRCA authorisation at its 116th ordinary session, announced on 7 February 2025. The offer runs through a window named Coris Assurances Takaful, dedicated to family takaful products.
Is takaful car insurance available in Ouagadougou?
Our sources identified no takaful motor product. The known approval concerns personal risk classes. Drivers must therefore keep their compulsory liability cover and can ask licensed insurers whether a general takaful window is being planned.
Is Coris a fully Islamic company?
No. Coris Assurances Vie Burkina remains a conventional life insurer that obtained a licence extension. The CIMA regulation requires it to separate takaful operations so that participants' contributions are not mixed with its conventional business.
Is the surplus paid back to Burkinabe members?
Under article 903-4, the CIMA Code allows the participants' fund surplus to be returned to them. The exact terms, whether amount, frequency or allocation, depend on the contract and must be read in the general terms and the sharia committee's opinion.