Prohibition on commercial insurance in all its forms
Question:
I heard that insurance is haraam, whether it is cooperative or otherwise. What should I do, as I have insurance on my car and my driving licence and I intend to get health and life insurance too?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Insurance is divided into commercial and cooperative types, between which there are differences. Cooperative insurance is permissible if you adhere to the conditions mentioned in the question referred to, but it is hard to find. Some companies claim that they adhere to cooperative insurance but in fact they do not and their insurance is commercial.
Secondly:
If a person is forced or required by the state to take out insurance on his driver's licence or car, there is no sin on him if he takes out insurance in that case, but he should limit himself to that which will ward off harm from him; he does not have the right to take out comprehensive insurance when there is third party insurance available, because one of the basic principles of sharee'ah is that things are permitted only to the extent that is necessary.
Thirdly:
It is not permissible to take out health insurance or life insurance.
And Allaah knows best.