{"id":102250,"date":"2025-11-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2025\/11\/09\/big-players-dominate-ins-market-in-3q-as-smaller-firms-falter\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T00:00:00","slug":"big-players-dominate-ins-market-in-3q-as-smaller-firms-falter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2025\/11\/09\/big-players-dominate-ins-market-in-3q-as-smaller-firms-falter\/","title":{"rendered":"Big players dominate ins. market in 3Q as smaller firms falter"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a tale of two markets for Saudi insurers in 3Q 2025. <\/strong>Industry leaders Bupa Arabia, Al Rajhi Takaful, and Tawuniya remained solidly in the black, while the rest of the sector faced tighter margins, with 12 of 13 other firms seeing their net income shrink or turn to a loss.<\/p>\n

The breakdown: <\/strong>Top players Bupa Arabia<\/a> and Al Rajhi Takaful<\/a> saw their net income grow in the third quarter, while Tawuniya<\/a> remained solidly in the black despite a 12.3% dip in net income.<\/p>\n

Medgulf was the outlier among ins. giants<\/strong>, with the company\u2019s bottom line halving in 3Q to SAR 17.9 mn, according to a disclosure to Tadawul<\/a>. This came despite a 14% y-o-y increase in the firm\u2019s ins. revenue to SAR over 1 bn, boosted by gains in the company\u2019s health and motor ins. segments. MedGulf is finalizing a merger<\/a> with Buruj Cooperative that will create the fourth-largest ins. player in the Kingdom by gross written premiums.<\/p>\n

A different story for smaller players: <\/strong>Of the 13 other insurers that reported their 3Q earnings so far, 12 recorded steep declines in their bottom lines, including eight companies that swung into the red. Four others reported sharp drops of over 50% (Arabia Ins., Malath, MedGulf, and Wataniya). Gulf Ins. Group was the only non-giant ins. player to report an increase in net income, up some 57%.<\/p>\n

Revenue growth didn\u2019t necessarily translate to the bottom line: <\/strong>A majority of companies (10 of 16) saw their ins. revenues grow. However, the growth was erased in many instances by higher costs, leading to lower net income and indicating a significant margin squeeze.<\/p>\n

ICYMI- The ins. market in Saudi is <\/strong>highly concentrated<\/a><\/strong>, with the top five players generating 70%-75% of revenues, S&P Global said in its Saudi Credit Trends report. This, along with intense competition in key lines like motor and medical, pressures the margins and underwriting performance of the other 21 insurers.<\/p>\n

The common culprits: <\/strong>Almost all companies posting losses this quarter \u2014 including Allied Cooperative Ins., Walaa, and Malath \u2014 cited higher net ins. service losses (especially from the motor segment), rising claims, and increased operating costs or reins. as reasons behind their shrinking bottom lines.<\/p>\n

Sector outlook:<\/strong> Moody\u2019s expects GCC insurers\u2019 net income to strengthen over the next 12-18 months, driven by government-backed diversification, non-oil growth in construction, tourism, and manufacturing, and expanding compulsory coverage, Zawya<\/a> reports. Non-life ins. \u2014 over 80% of GCC premiums, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE \u2014 will remain the main growth driver, with rising non-oil investment and subsidy phaseouts set to boost underwriting gains through 2026.<\/p>\n

The great divide is expected to linger: <\/strong>Larger insurers are set to continue to outperform, thanks to scale advantages, while smaller players will struggle amid intense price competition, rising claims, and higher regulatory and technology costs, likely prompting further consolidation. The rating agency also warned that some insurers\u2019 exposure to high-risk investments leaves them vulnerable to regional geopolitical tensions.<\/p>\n

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A FEW PICKS-<\/p>\n