Islamic Insurer Closes

The first Islamic insurer to be based in the UK has closed its books after it failed to raise the necessary capital to continue. Salaam Halal, which was launched last July, has 10,000 policy holders and says it will honour all current policies until they expire. The management have blamed the recession for the lack of investment. A recent rights issue failed to raise the cash required. The insurer sold policies which were compliant with the Koran, which forbids the practise of interest, risk and speculation.