FIJISHI EPL

Fijishi Jurisdiction Index 2026 · Entry SA · Published 12 October 2026

At a glance

Jurisdiction tier	Tier D - Not yet specified. No binding instrument that applies to insurers' own use of AI, and no issued regulator document addressed to this insurance market, sets out rules or expectations for AI.
Case examined	Tawuniya - an AI model that approves medical pre-authorisations
Band for this case	Elevated
Rules reach	Insurers: directly · Reinsurers: directly · Intermediaries: directly
Last verified	[actual date of the launch-window check]

1. The rules in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's Insurance Authority lists no rule, circular or guideline on AI among its published regulations. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority's AI Ethics Principles (Version 1.0, September 2023) apply to all AI stakeholders in the Kingdom, but registration is optional and there is no penalty.

Who these rules reach

• Insurers: directly, as AI stakeholders. The Principles "shall apply to all AI stakeholders designing, developing, deploying, implementing, using, or being affected by AI systems within KSA". They are voluntary.
• Reinsurers: directly, as AI stakeholders, under the same words.
• Intermediaries: directly, as AI stakeholders, under the same words.

2. The case examined: Tawuniya - Elevated

This band describes how clearly the rules meet the AI use that Tawuniya has itself published. It is not a finding that Tawuniya has breached any rule.

Why Tawuniya: Tawuniya's own 2025 Annual Report says it launched a pre-authorisation AI model that enables automated approvals.

The question

The Company for Cooperative Insurance (Tawuniya) says in its 2025 Annual Report that in health it "launched a Pre-Authorization AI model that enables automated approvals", supported by policy terms, member profiling and global medical guidelines. Saudi Arabia's Insurance Authority lists no rule, circular or guideline on artificial intelligence among the regulations published on its website (observed 28 September 2026). The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority's AI Ethics Principles (Version 1.0, September 2023) say that the framework applies to all AI stakeholders using AI systems in the Kingdom, and that SDAIA measures compliance directly or through sector regulators. For Tawuniya's automated pre-authorisation approvals, which authority checks the model against those principles: SDAIA directly, or the sector regulator that supervises Tawuniya's health insurance business?

In brief

Tawuniya says it uses an AI model that approves medical pre-authorisations automatically. Saudi Arabia's national AI ethics principles say they apply to everyone who uses AI in the Kingdom and that compliance can be measured by the national AI authority or by sector regulators, while the insurance regulator has published no AI rules of its own. Neither authority has publicly said which of them checks an insurer's AI.

Why this band: The question points to one firm, one model and two named authorities, but the principles it rests on are voluntary.

3. The same question for other firms in Saudi Arabia

Any insurer in Saudi Arabia using AI in approvals or claims faces the same point: which authority checks its model against the national AI principles. This entry gives no band to any firm other than Tawuniya.

4. What this entry does not establish

• Which regulator supervises Tawuniya's health insurance business was not confirmed from a primary source; the question does not name it.
• Whether a person reviews each automated pre-authorisation, or whether any request is declined automatically. This entry says nothing either way.
• The Insurance Authority's regulations page may not list every circular.
• SDAIA's National AI Risk Management Framework (SDAIA-P145, version 1.0, April 2026; launch announced 14 July 2026) describes itself as an advisory framework for government and private-sector entities. It does not name insurance.

5. Dates ahead

• No date set: any Insurance Authority instrument on AI.

See the Regulatory Deadline Calendar: Pending finalization / unresolved.

Sources

1. The Company for Cooperative Insurance (Tawuniya), Annual Report 2025 (no publication date captured; covers the year to 31 December 2025). Company's own. tawuniya.com PDF
2. Insurance Authority, Rules and Instructions, Regulations page (observed 28 September 2026). Regulator. ia.gov.sa
3. Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, AI Ethics Principles, Version 1.0, September 2023 (printed). Government (voluntary). dgp.sdaia.gov.sa PDF
4. Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, National Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework, SDAIA-P145, version 1.0, April 2026 (printed); English executive summary SDAIA-P145EN. Government (advisory). Read from copies of both language versions.
5. Saudi Press Agency, "SDAIA Introduces National Framework for Managing AI Risks", 14 July 2026. Government news agency. spa.gov.sa
6. SDAIA, Guide to the Saudi Personal Data Protection Law, December 2023, Version 1.0 (printed). Government. dgp.sdaia.gov.sa PDF

Related entries

None share a law or regulator with this entry.

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