‎Insurance mergers seen to escalate: Official

‎Insurance mergers seen to escalate: Official

Increased mergers among players in the Saudi insurance industry are expected in the upcoming period, following the establishment of the Insurance Authority (IA), with the aim of forming larger entities in the sector, Adel Al-Eisa, Media Spokesman for Insurance Companies in Saudi Arabia, told Asharq TV.

Exclusively dedicated to the insurance industry, IA will be an independent entity, reporting directly to the Prime Minister, with all insurance-related legislation undertaken under one roof, Al-Eisa noted.

IA will devote more focus on promoting the sector and resolving all challenges, including mergers, the spokesperson added, pointing out that the insurance sector currently tackling many problems, most notably the unstable financial results, not to mention that the sector’s profitability is not on par with global markets’ results.

The transfer of powers to IA will take six to seven months, after which the actual work will begin to develop the sector and increase its contribution to the non-oil GDP, with an aim to exceed 4% by 2030.

Although the insurance sector operates well, it does not reflect the Kingdom's prosperous economic status quo. Therefore, it needs a great deal of development efforts, especially with regard to providing the necessary support and promoting the employees’ skills and knowledge, alongside overseeing