2020 Q3 Report En · Page 6

 
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SAMA: 8% Increase for the Insurance Sector in 2019; Gross 
Written Premiums (GWP) Reached 37.89 billion  
SAMA has issued the 13th annual report on the Saudi insurance 
market. The report highlights the performance of the insurance 
sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2019 and the sector’s 
contribution to the Kingdom's gross domestic product. 
The insurance sector witnessed growth of circa 8% in 2019, 
marking the first increase in 3 years, with total written premium 
reaching SAR 37.89 billion. The increase was led by the Health 
and Property & Casualty classes. The penetration ratio of the 
sector increased from 1.20% in 2018 to 1.28% in 2019. Insurance 
density increased by 5.7% over 2018 to reach SR 1,107. In terms 
of the underwriting performance, the overall loss ratio remained 
stable, as improvement in the loss ratio for health insurance were 
largely offset by an increase in the loss ratio for motor insurance. 
The net profit (after zakat & tax) for the sector increased more 
than twice as much over the previous year’s corresponding figure, 
thereby improving the return-on-assets and return-on-equity 
ratios. The overall Saudization ratio increased from 72% in 2018 
to 74% in 2019. 
SAMA Issues the 2nd Quarterly Report of the Year 2020 for the 
Insurance Sector 
SAMA announced the release of the second quarterly report of 
the insurance sector for the year 2020. The report compares the 
performance of the Insurance Sector during Q2 2020 with the 
corresponding quarter in the preceding year. 
The report shows positive developments during Q2 2020. The 
total market GWP grew by over 5% compared to Q2 2019, net 
income for the sector also grew driven by the growth in operating 
income. In addition, the report highlighted the improvement of 
Solvency ratio as it reached 172%. The combined ratio decreased 
to reach 87.3%. Loss ratio for both health and motor insurance 
(the largest lines of business) reduced noticeably. 
SAMA Updates Rules on Disclosure of Interest Rates on 
Financing and Saving Products 
SAMA announced the issuance of the updated version of the 
Rules on Disclosure of Interest Rates on Financing and Savings 
Products. The updated rules aim to promote transparency and 
enable consumers to compare financing and saving products 
rates. Therefore, banks and finance companies operating in Saudi 
Arabia are required to disclose and publish the minimum 
information required about products offered to retail consumers, 
micro and small enterprises on their websites and through their 
marketing channels. In addition, banks and finance companies 
should encourage consumers to visit their websites and compare 
between prices to make informed decision and choose the 
suitable products which serve their needs. 
SAMA Announces the Licensing of “Alinma Pay” and “SURE” 
Companies 
SAMA has announced the licensing of two payment companies,
namely: “Alinma Pay” which provides a digital wallet service (an 
electronic transfer and payment service), and “SURE” which 
provides payment services (a payment gateway through fixed and
mobile POS devices). Therefore, there is a total number of eight 
payment companies licensed by SAMA to date in the fintech 
sector in addition to two companies that obtained initial approval.
SAMA stressed its ongoing efforts to support the payments and 
fintech sector ecosystem and raise the level of effectiveness and
flexibility of financial transactions in addition to enhancing 
innovation in th