Saudi Arabia: Number of building contracting firms to shrink in wake of IDI rule
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Mar 2021
At least a fifth of building contracting firms in Saudi Arabia, especially SMEs, is expected to exit the industry following the implementation of rules requiring construction and building contractors working on non-governmental projects to insure hidden defects under compulsory inherent defects insurance (IDI) policies. Construction costs are expected to rise, too.
Progress on introducing IDI in Saudi Arabia has been steady. Last March, the then-Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (now the Central Bank) issued the model text for the compulsory IDI policy. The provisions set out in the standard policy specify the minimum coverage for inherent risk, as well as exceptions.
In July 2020, Malath Cooperative Insurance signed an agreement with several participating insurance firms to offer IDI products. The agreement followed SAMA’s approval of Malath as the leading insurer to manage the latent defects insurance programme on behalf of the insurance sector. In August 2020, Saudi Re signed an exclusive five-year reinsurance contract with Malath that named Saudi Re as the exclusive reinsurer of the IDI programme.
The head of the property and liabilities insurance committee in the insurance sector Hussam Al-Qannas said the introduction of the mandatory policy is important in elevating the standards of construction and the quality of buildings. “The cost of the insurance does not exceed 1% or 1.5% of the total value of the insured building for a period of 10 years following its completion,” he added.
The Ministry of Municipality and Rural Affairs has drawn up a four-year schedule from 2020 to 2023 to roll out the mandatory IDI programme. The schedule will be implemented in four stages. M