Insurance
From The Report: Saudi Arabia 2025
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Saudi Arabia’s insurance sector has shown strong premium, revenue, asset and equity growth. With a new insurance law on the way as of January 2026, the sector continues to both widen and deepen. At the same time, Saudi Arabia is home to the world’s largest sharia-compliant insurance, or takaful (Islamic insurance) market. The Financial Sector Development Programme sets targets for further expansion of mandatory coverages, health care reform, the use of new technologies, and localisation in insurance and reinsurance issuers. Industries such as tourism are growing rapidly, as is the adoption of new technologies. All of these steps bode well for future expansion, as well as efficiency and security.

This chapter contains interviews with Shabab bin Saad Al Ghamdi, Secretary General, Council of Health Insurance and Tal Hisham Nazer, CEO, BUPA Arabia.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Market maturity: Benefitting from strong growth, regulatory reform and a new law, the sector is set to be reshaped from 2026
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In recent years, Saudi Arabia’s insurance sector has shown strong premium, revenue, asset and equity growth. With a new insurance law on the way as of January 2026, the sector continues to both widen and deepen, while hosting two of the Middle East’s largest insurers: Bupa Arabia and Tawuniya. At the same time, Saudi Arabia is home to the world’s largest sharia-compliant insurance, or takaful (Islamic insurance) market. There has already been significant restructuring of industry supervision with the 2023 establishment of the Insurance Authority (IA) consolidating two previous sector entities. Operating since 2024, the IA now brings together…

Interview

Transforming care: Shabab bin Saad Al Ghamdi, Secretary General, Council of Health Insurance, on system modernisation and strategic reform
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Interview: Shabab bin Saad Al Ghamdi, Secretary General, Council of Health Insurance, on system modernisation and strategic reform How is the rollout of the new national insurance programme expected to reshape demand patterns across the Kingdom? SHABAB BIN SAAD AL GHAMDI: It creates a clearer separation between public financing and private insurance. A central public purchaser will fund care for citizens not covered by private insurance, similar to systems where a single payer covers government…

Interview

Enhanced coverage: Tal Hisham Nazer, CEO, BUPA Arabia, on regulatory changes shaping the sector and increased public-private collaboration
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Interview: Tal Hisham Nazer, CEO, BUPA Arabia, on regulatory changes shaping the sector and increased public-private collaboration In what ways has the health insurance sector adapted to meet the needs of a growing population? TAL HISHAM NAZER: The Saudi health insurance sector has been on a transformative journey since its inception in the mid-1990s. At that time, private health care facilities were limited, primarily concentrated in the three major cities, and focused on standard medical specialities.…