Life insurance premiums in Saudi Arabia are projected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of over 50 percent from 2009 to 2012 on account of rising awareness and measures taken by insurance regulator. With regulatory developments and growing awareness, protection and saving (life) insurance sector has immense potential for future growth. By premium, the sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 50 percent between 2009 and 2012, said a new research report, “Saudi Arabia Insurance Market to 2012 “ by RNCOS. The report noted that the protection and saving insurance market in Saudi Arabia is at the nascent stage of development compared to other emerging economies in the world. It accounts for a very small share of total insurance market in the Kingdom. Low penetration is primarily based on the fact that the conventional insurance does not relate to the values and beliefs of most of the prospective customers, it added. Saudi Arabia's insurance penetration level as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) at below 1 percent is the lowest in the world. However, the recent regulatory developments which make it mandatory for insurers to comply with cooperative insurance law are building the confidence of Kingdom's people to buy insurance products. The Kingdom's insurance sector underwent liberalization even more rapidly than the banking sector, with 13 new insurance firms licensed in 2006. Most of the new firms are joint ventures with foreign companies, which will bring new inflows of foreign direct investment into the economy. As in the banking sector, foreign firms can own up to 60 percent of locally-based insurance companies. The cooperative insurance law ensu res that all the life insurance companies must comply with Shariah business laws. Therefore, the life insurance sector is expected to grow much faster than other insurance sectors. The share of life insurance premium is forecasted to increase to 9 percent by 2012 from just 4 percent in 2008. “Saudi Arabia Insurance Market to 2012” is a comprehensive research report that comprises of quality research and in-depth analysis of the insurance market in Saudi Arabia. It studies the emerging market trends, recent developments and their impact on the market. The report helps clients to analyze the leading-edge opportunities, prospective customer base, key players, expected future outlook and all the other factors which are critical for the success of a new entrant in the insurance industry of Saudi Arabia. The report supplements past and current information of Saudi Arabia insurance market with forecast for various important industry segments like health, motor, property, energy and engineering, etc. RNCOS is an industry research firm. __
