Walaa Insurance’s motor, general insurance segments contribute most to Q2 profits: CEO

Johnson Varughese, CEO of Walaa Cooperative Insurance Co.

The motor insurance segment and other general insurance businesses contributed the most to Walaa Cooperative Insurance Co.’s Q2 2024 profits, CEO Johnson Varughese told Argaam.

The written premiums for both motor and medical insurance decreased by 31% and 49% year-on-year (YoY), respectively, during the three-month period.

For more exclusive interviews

On a sequential basis, written premiums retreated by 29% for motor insurance and by 14% for medical insurance for the same quarter.

Accordingly, Walaa took a deliberate decision to eliminate some loss-making policies in the motor and medical insurance segments.

Varughese said written premiums for engineering insurance fell by 33% YoY during Q2 2024, while other insurance sectors sank by 57% YoY. Meanwhile, written premiums for protection and savings insurance grew by 14% YoY.

The profit fall was mainly due to a 20% YoY drop in net investment returns as a result of lower unrealized profits from shares. This was attributed to a decrease in the market value of local investments.

Varughese affirmed that the SAR 467.5 million capital top-up via a rights issue contributed to supporting the company’s medical insurance growth plan, boosting retention for general insurance via capital allocation, expanding incoming reinsurance business, and maintaining capital efficiency and the current adequacy margin. Walaa aims to bolster its current credit rating in light of the planned future expansions.

According to the data available on Argaam, Walaa’s profits increased 2% YoY to SAR 64.3 million by the end of the first half of 2024. The second-quarter income amounted to SAR 24.4 million.