Saudi Arabia:Tawuniya plans to launch a reinsurance company

The Company for Cooperative Insurance (Tawuniya) plans to launch a reinsurance company by the end of 2025, pending key approvals from regulatory and supervisory authorities, revealed Tawuniya CEO Othman Alkassabi.

He said this in an interview with CNBC Arabia.‎ "During the fourth quarter, we are awaiting approval for a reinsurance company that has been established and the appointment of its board of directors. We are waiting for the final approvals for them," he said.

The move comes as the Insurance Authority (IA) has mandated since 1 January 2025 that 30% of facultative operations be ceded locally, whereas the treaty retention requirement of 30% has been gradually implemented since 2022. In addition to the country’s sole national reinsurer, Saudi Re, there are five direct insurers licensed to transact reinsurance in the Kingdom.

Tawuniya’s market share reaches 28%

Mr Alkassabi pointed out that Tawuniya's market share has reached 28%. The number of insured customers in the health insurance branch totals 3.5m, and the number of insured vehicles is 2m.

According to Tawuniya’s interim financial statements published on Tadawul last week, the company’s net profit after zakat attributable to shareholders reached SAR902.4m ($240.6m) for the first nine months of 2025 (9M2025), 6% higher than the SAR854m posted for the corresponding period in 2024.

Gross written premiums during 9M2025 amounted to SAR17.2bn, compared to SAR14.4bn achieved in the corresponding period of the previous year, representing an increase of 20%. Insurance revenue grew by around 17% to SAR15.8bn in 9M2025 against SAR13.5bn in 9M2024.

Healthcare insurance premiums are estimated to account for 74% of Tawuniya’s premium income, whereas motor insurance contributes 12%; general lines, 13%; and life insurance commands around 1%.

Source: Tadawul