RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s listed insurers posted a 13 percent jump in aggregate net profit in the first quarter of 2026, as stronger underwriting and investment income lifted a sector recovering from a weak prior year. Net profit attributable to shareholders rose to about SR1.5 billion ($400 million) from SR1.3 billion a year earlier, Moody’s Ratings said in a report. Insurance revenue across 24 listed companies increased about 14 percent to nearly SR38.5 billion, driven by continued growth in motor and medical insurance.   The improvement adds to signs of a recovery in Saudi Arabia’s insurance market, with gross written premiums across the broader sector rising 10.7 percent to SR84.3 billion in 2025, according to the Insurance Authority. Health and motor insurance accounted for almost 89 percent of total premium growth during the year, while the sector recorded net income of SR1.9 billion and an average solvency margin of 156.7 percent.  “Aggregate net profit attributable to shareholders rose by around 13 percent to around SR1.5 billion from SR1.3 billion in the first half of 2025, driven by improvement in both underwriting performance ... and investment income, which surged by around 17 percent,” Moody's Ratings said in its sector profile.  Recovery broadens  The improvement was driven primarily by mid-sized and smaller insurers that narrowed losses or returned to profitability, while the five largest insurers reported broadly stable combined earnings of around SR1.6 billion, little changed from a year earlier.  Twelve of the 24 listed insurers reported higher net profit than in the year-earlier period, but nine continued to record losses, underscoring persistent pressure across parts of the market.  Medgulf reported the strongest improvement among the top five, while Tawuniya’s lower net profit offset earnings gains at the other four large insurers.  Outside the top five, the remaining 19 insurers reduced their combined net loss to around SR100 million from approximately SR300 million a year earlier, as several companies returned to profitability or significantly narrowed their losses.  Walaa Cooperative Insurance Co. posted the sector’s biggest earnings turnaround, reporting a profit of around SR43 million in the first half of 2026 compared with a loss of around SR117 million a year earlier.   Market concentration  The five largest insurers by insurance revenue — Tawuniya, Bupa Arabia, Al Rajhi Co. for Cooperative Insurance, Medgulf and Wataniya — accounted for around 77 percent of sector insurance revenue as of June 30. Tawuniya and Bupa Arabia alone represented approximately 59 percent.   Investment boost  Aggregate investment income, excluding unit-linked investment results, increased 17 percent to SR1.4 billion from SR1.2 billion a year earlier. All five of the largest insurers reported year-on-year growth in investment income.  Performance was more mixed among smaller companies, with nine of the remaining 19 insurers reporting lower investment income than in the first half of 2025.  Capital pressures  Aggregate sector equity increased 7.4 percent to around SR28 billion as of June, from about SR26 billion a year earlier. The improvement was driven largely by large insurers through retained earnings, capital injections and balance-sheet expansion associated with mergers and consolidation activity.   Several smaller insurers, by contrast, reported double-digit percentage declines in shareholders’ equity, while some disclosed substantial uncertainties related to their ability to continue as a going concern, reflecting accumulated losses and solvency ratios below required levels.   Moody’s said solvency pressures are likely to increase as the sector transitions to a risk-based capital and economic solvency framework from January 2027, reinforcing consolidation as a key medium-term theme for the Saudi insurance market.