Kuwait's listed insurance sector carried firm momentum into the first half of 2026, with aggregate insurance revenue for the eight listed insurers rising by 8% to KWD624m [$2.02bn] (1H2025: KWD577m), according to an analysis by BADRI Management Consultancy.
In a report titled “Kuwait Listed Insurance Industry Performance Analysis–1H2026”, BADRI said that growth was broad-based, and most insurers reported higher revenue than a year earlier.
The largest absolute gains came from the market's leading carrier Gulf Insurance Group (GINS). The market stays concentrated in a handful of large players, though the wider spread of growth points to gradually improving depth. Core underwriting strengthened over the period.
The combined insurance service result rose 22% to KWD56m (1H2025: KWD46m), lifting the sector's insurance service ratio to 9% from 8%. The improvement was widely shared, with the sharpest gains coming from insurers whose underwriting books returned to health after a weaker prior year, several of which now post the strongest service ratios in the market.
Profit before zakat and tax increased by 15% to KWD67m, and profit after zakat and tax rose by 16% to KWD60m (1H 025: KWD52m). The largest absolute gains of KWD12m again came from the market's leading carrier GINS and a previously loss-making First Takaful Insurance (FTI) returned to profit in the first half of 2026. Not every insurer shared in the improvement: Kuwait Insurance (KINS) recorded a decline of more than 42% in profit.
Growth driver
Across the sector, the earnings mix continued to shift towards insurance operations, a positive signal for the quality and durability of profits.
Investment income moved the other way, easing 6% to KWD51m as market conditions weighed on returns; it stayed heavily concentrated in the largest carriers, while a few operators recorded sharp declines. That pull-back, together with a widespread reversal in other comprehensive income (OCI), reduced total comprehensive income by 25% to KWD55m, with only two insurers reporting positive OCI.
2H2026
Looking to the second half of 2026, regulatory development, digital adoption and product diversification should continue to support growth.
BADRI said, “With investment returns under pressure, sustaining the improvement in underwriting will be central to earnings resilience. Insurers that hold pricing discipline, manage claims and expense inflation, and keep reinsurance and capital costs in check will be best placed to convert revenue growth into durable technical profit through the remainder of the year.”
Aside from FTS, GINS and KINS, the listed insurers include Al Ahleia Insurance, Bahrain Kuwait Insurance (BKIKWT), Kuwait Reinsurance, Warba Insurance and Reinsurance and Wethaq Takaful Insurance.