GCC Profits Hold Firm as UAE Underwriting Surges; Singapore Expands ILS to Bolster Asia Risk Capacity

Dubai/Singapore — 21 Nov 2025. The insurance industry across the GCC and Asia-Pacific enters year-end on steadier footing, with listed Gulf carriers maintaining aggregate profitability even as Saudi market volumes softened, and with the UAE posting a sharp improvement in underwriting results. In parallel, Singapore is widening support for insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurers to meet the region’s rising climate and catastrophe exposures.

GCC snapshot: resilient earnings, firmer pricing

Aggregate profits for 75 listed GCC insurers held around USD 1.7 billion in 9M-2025, broadly mirroring first-half trends, according to a new Insurance Monitor/Lux Actuaries study. The cross-market stability masks dispersion: Saudi Arabia saw pressure, while the UAE, Oman and Bahrain were steadier, aided by disciplined pricing and portfolio clean-ups. meinsurancereview.com

In the UAE, sector momentum accelerated into the third quarter: the Insurance Service Result (the IFRS 17 core underwriting measure) rose 61% to AED 2.4 billion in 3Q-2025 (vs. AED 1.5 billion in 3Q-2024), reflecting tighter risk-based pricing, improved reinsurance panels, and reduced loss ratios in motor/medical after earlier corrective actions. meinsurancereview.com

Those actions followed 2024’s extreme weather losses. A recent regional outlook noted that non-life prices in the UAE climbed into 2025, particularly after the storm-related claims spike, helping restore profitability and risk appetite. Arab News

Company pulse: underwriting discipline shows up in results

Select UAE carriers’ disclosures underscore the trend. Orient Insurance reported Q3-2025 insurance revenue of AED 6.9 billion (↑25.5% y/y) and net profit after tax of AED 658 million (↑22.8% y/y), alongside stronger equity and investment books—painting a picture of both core and financial income tailwinds. Al-Futtaim

Within takaful, Takaful Emarat highlighted 22% y/y growth in gross written contributions to AED 563 million in Q3-2025, attributing gains to product repricing, distribution efficiency, and a focus on protection-led segments. While the contribution line is expanding, management flagged continued emphasis on technical profitability and expense control under IFRS 17. Khaleej Times

Across the Gulf, IFRS 17 continues to reshape how performance is presented, with investors training attention on the Insurance Service Result, Contractual Service Margin (CSM) release, and reinsurance contract impacts rather than pure top-line growth. The sector-wide study suggests discipline—rather than volume—drove the 9M-2025 profit outturn. meinsurancereview.com

Structural shifts: consolidation and capital management

Saudi Arabia’s insurance market remains on a multi-year consolidation path under the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) as it seeks scale efficiencies and stronger balance sheets. While specific 2025 deal flow has been episodic, the policy arc builds on earlier SAMA-approved combinations—part of a regulatory push that has rebranded and refocused the supervisor’s mandate over recent years. Argaam+1

For CFOs across the region, that means capital management and reinsurance optimisation remain live priorities: panels are being tightened, catastrophe covers re-evaluated post-2024 weather events, and investment portfolios adjusted as domestic rates and liquidity evolve.

APAC pivot: Singapore doubles down on reinsurance and ILS

At the 21st Singapore International Reinsurance Conference (SIRC) this month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) set out measures to deepen the city-state’s role as Asia’s risk-transfer hub. MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun highlighted 29 catastrophe bonds issued to date out of Singapore and said the refreshed ILS grant scheme now covers renewals and non-APAC risks—a signal that Singapore is courting repeat sponsors and global perils while still prioritising protection for Asia. Monetary Authority of Singapore+1

The message is twofold: first, international reinsurers will see continued regulatory and ecosystem support in Singapore; second, capital-markets capacity via ILS will be nurtured to supplement traditional reinsurance amid climate-driven loss volatility. For cedants across ASEAN and North Asia—where flood, typhoon and secondary perils are intensifying—the expanded ILS pathway offers diversification of limit and potentially more competitive pricing across cycles. Monetary Authority of Singapore+1

In the retail market, MAS also pointed out that insurance disputes remain rare and are largely resolved via mediation/adjudication through FIDReC, underscoring a high-functioning consumer-protection framework that supports confidence and take-up—especially as protection and retirement products evolve under interest-rate normalisation. Insurance Asia

What it means for 2026 planning

For GCC insurers:

For APAC cedants and sponsors:

For investors:

Bottom line

The insurance story across the GCC and APAC is one of steadying fundamentals, smarter risk transfer, and capital-markets innovation. In the Gulf, pricing and underwriting controls have stabilised profits at scale even through uneven market patches; in Asia, Singapore’s ILS and reinsurance push aims to unlock additional risk-bearing capacity as climate exposures climb. If current discipline holds, 2026 could see a more balanced growth-plus-profitability profile—provided carriers resist volume temptation, keep coverages tight, and continue translating IFRS 17 signals into investor clarity. asiainsurancereview.com+3meinsurancereview.com+3meinsurancereview.com+3