Deals of the Week: ADIB teaches children financial skills

Plus the region's first-ever insurance comparison website launches.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), the second-largest Sharia-compliant lender in the UAE, has launched a children's savings account as part of its long-term strategy to help customers learn smart money management skills.

The lender's financial literacy campaign was launched in April with the release of Smart money, a financial booklet that covers topics such as how to budget, manage debt and investments, understand risks and help to create personal wealth.

The Banoon Children's Savings Account is the next step in ADIB's campaign and it hopes it will serve as a foundation for parents to teach their children the importance of saving and managing money.

"We are supporting the parents in two angles," says Maryam Talib Ahmed, the head of new product development at ADIB. "Number one is to plan for their children's future and also help them to raise the savings habit in their kids from a young age."

Banoon, which is Arabic for boys and girls, offers a range of features, including the Darhoom prepaid card, which can automatically be topped up from parents' accounts. New account holders receive a welcome pack that includes a financial literacy activity book, a story book that features the Darhoom mascot and a money box, also in the Darhoom character, to help them with their savings.

The bank also donates Dh100 to the Red Crescent Scholars Assistance programme on behalf of your child, and parents can opt to take out ADIB's Education Takaful (insurance) of up to Dh100,000.

"This card has lots of features to make sure the parent who applies for it is confident," Ms Ahmed says. "They are able to monitor the transactions and receive an instant SMS on all transactions.

"We should be talking to children and telling them why they should save. And how they can benefit from the dirham itself. The dirham can open lots of doors for them."

For more information, go to www.adib.ae.

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The first-ever insurance comparison website allowing consumers to click and buy their new policy has launched in the UAE.

InsureMe.ae offers consumers the chance to compare and choose the best insurance cover for their needs and have the policy of their choice delivered straight to their home.

The comparison process, which takes less than a minute to highlight the best product, includes options for car, home contents, travel and medical insurance.

Online insurance comparison is a popular concept in more developed markets around the world where consumers prefer independent assessments of the different products available rather than relying on the traditional approach of consulting an insurance broker for advice.

"If you look at the USA and Western Europe, personal insurance is almost entirely an online product," says Vala Setareh, executive director of NetInsure Limited. "We do all the hard work, read all the fine print and deliver an objective solution on a silver platter. All the client needs to do is to click and buy his or her favourite choice online."

InsureMe.ae is the first and only website of its kind in the region.