Saudi Arabia’s ins. sector contributed 2.59% to non-oil GDP in 2024, up from 2.38% in 2023, the Ins. Authority said in its 2024 Ins. Market Report (pdf). The sector’s bottom line rose to SAR 3.6 bn in 2024, compared y-o-y to SAR 3.2 bn, supported by improved services and higher investment income. The Saudization rate in the sector climbed to 85%, up 10 percentage points in 2023.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background and outside sources.)

Premiums, penetration, and density: Total gross written premiums (GWP) grew 16.3% y-o-y to SAR 76.1 bn in 2024. Health ins. remained dominant at 55% of total GWP, despite a slight decline from 59% the previous year, while protection and savings ins. rose sharply to 10.1%, up from 3.9% in 2024. Ins. penetration increased to 1.87% of GDP, up from 1.64% in 2023, while ins. density (GWP per capita) rose 16.3% to SAR 2.4k per capita.

Health and motor ins. together accounted for 73.7% of total GWP in 2024. Health ins. premiums grew by 9.4% y-o-y to 55.5% of GWP last year, while motor ins. premiums declined by 2.8% y-o-y to 18.2%. Protection and savings ins. saw a 200% jump in premiums to SAR 7.7 bn, representing 10% of total GWP. The retention ratio for health and motor ins. increased slightly, exceeding 98% in both categories, while property ins. rose three percentage points to 21.7% and marine ins. fell five percentage points to 25.5%.

In terms of client segments, retail ins. GWP logged SAR 17.1 bn, representing 22.4% of the total market in 2024. Within motor ins., individual policyholders accounted for 63.6% of total motor premiums. Ins. for micro enterprises represented 2.9% of total market GWP, small enterprises made up 6.6%, and medium enterprises accounted for 11.2%. Corporate ins. remained dominant, representing 56.9% of total market GWP, with corporates contributing 70.1% of health ins. GWP.

Direct and online sales led distribution, contributing 54.4% of GWP in 2024, up from 50.3% the year prior. Broker sales accounted for 44%, with online broker sales comprising 9.6%. Sales through agents continued to decline, falling to just 1.6% in 2024, compared to 3.6% in 2023.

Claims and gains on the up: Gross claims paid rose 15.9% to SAR 47.9 bn in 2024. Health ins. claims increased 12.1%, while motor ins. claims jumped 21.2%. Net investment income improved to SAR 3.46 bn in 2024 from SAR 2.56 bn in 2023, supporting higher overall net income and pushing up ins. operations income to SAR 2.9 bn, compared to SAR 2.66 bn in 2023.

The ins. market balance sheet: Total assets of ins. companies grew to SAR 88.2 bn in 2024, up from SAR 77.4 bn the year before. Investments rose to SAR 26.3 bn from SAR 21 bn. Total liabilities rose to SAR 60.8 bn from SAR 53.8, while total equity increased to SAR 27.4 bn from SAR 23.7 bn. Meanwhile, share capital saw modest growth, logging SAR 15.6 bn.

Regulation round-up: Key regulatory updates in 2024 included the Standard Ins. Policy for compulsory health ins. for domestic workers, allowing the establishment of a mandatory minimum coverage for them. New policies for inspection bodies and high-risk venues established minimum liability coverage and uniform standards, supporting compliance with the Saudi Building Code and safety regulations for populated areas.

Tags: