The Banking Executive Magazine - Septmber Issue 2021

Saudi Insurance Sector SAUDI INSURANCE SECTOR NET INCOME PLUMMETS IN Q2, AS PREMIUMS GO UP Net income of Saudi Arabia’s insur- ance sector fell by 59.2 percent in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year. This was attributed to a steep drop in operating income from SR709 mil- lion ($189 million) to SR74 million. New figures from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) showed premiums reaching SR9.4 billion or an increase of 8.1 percent during the same pe- riod. Protection and saving insurance led the rise in gross written premium (GWP), recording a 34 percent rise to SR436 million. GWP is used to measure an insur- ance’s company’s revenue health. Premiums of health insurance rose by 6.6 percent to SR5.1 billion, and the motor insurance sector fell by 9.9 percent to SR1.7 billion year-on-year. Both insurance types retained a sub- stantial portion of their business, SAMA showed, with retention ratio reaching 97.6 percent and 94.5 per- cent, respectively. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 28 ISSUE 153 SEPTEMBER 2021