Lloyds of London has heard the call to prayer and is turning its business head towards Mecca.

The world's largest insurance market seems to have finally woken up to the fact that Islamic insurance, known as Takaful, is a growth area that could be worth pursuing.

Parts of the Middle East, where the majority of the population are Muslims, are now widely seen as offering exceptional growth opportunities - even surpassing the US.

Lord Levene, chairman of Lloyds, in an interview with Bloomberg news, said that the Middle East made up less than one per cent of the world's insurance market and that it was "an interesting place to explore".

Lloyds would be following in the pioneering footsteps of companies such as American International Group (AIG), Allianz SE and Swiss Reinsurance Co that have already made inroads into the Islamic insurance market.

Charles Bouloux, AIG's president for the Middle East, Mediterranean and South Asia, told Bloomberg: "There's enormous potential for Takaful as uninsured markets become insured as awareness of Islamic financial products grows.

"It's not just in the Middle East and Asia either… we see potential in the US, France and the UK.'

Islamic law, which prohibits against betting on future events and the receiving of interest payments, is widely seen as the main stumbling block for the selling of conventional insurance products.

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