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Gross insurance premium rises 28.8pc to $3.3b

October 09, 2022 00:00:00


RIYADH, Oct 08 (Arab News): Total gross written premiums of the insurance sector increased 28.8 per cent to SR12.2 billion ($3.3 billion) in the second quarter from SR9.5 billion in the same period last year, reported Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA.

"GWPs are a good indicator of the overall development of the sector," Jarmo Kotilaine, an economist and strategist focusing on the Gulf region, told Arab News.

The health sector's GWP, which makes up 54.6 per cent of the Kingdom's total GWPs, rose by 31.8 per cent, amounting to SR6.8 billion in the second quarter.

Other general insurance GWP rose by 24.3 per cent, reaching SR2.6 billion in the second quarter compared to the corresponding period of 2021. It makes up 22.2 per cent of the country's GWPs.

Motor insurance GWP, which constitutes 18.6 per cent of total GWP, saw a 23.7 per cent growth totaling SR2.2 billion.

, showed the SAMA report.

Protection and savings insurance GWP amounted to 4.6 per cent of the aggregate and saw a 35.1 per cent rise reaching SR589 million last quarter.

Kotilaine clarified that the increase in the Kingdom's GWPs "is not necessarily linked to the financial performance of individual companies."

He pointed out that it faces the challenge of sector fragmentation.

"Especially after health insurance became mandatory, many businesses entered the sector. As a result, there has been margin erosion, slowing down the sector," said Kotilaine.

Protection and savings insurance GWP amounted to 4.6 per cent of the aggregate and saw a 35.1 per cent rise reaching SR589 million last quarter.

Moreover, the report highlighted that three major key insurance indicators saw a year-on-year drop in the second quarter of 2022: operating income, net income and net investment income.


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