Saudi Arabia's Insurance Authority has launched the Insurance Hackathon, part of the innovation ecosystem it recently announced alongside a business incubator, an accelerator, a regulatory sandbox and a perks platform. The short, competitive event asks teams to turn real challenges facing the insurance sector into technical solutions and testable prototypes, with the best projects referred to the incubation, acceleration and sandbox programmes.

Teams can enter one of four tracks: customer experience and digital services; artificial intelligence and data; embedded and on-demand insurance; and major events and mass gatherings. The authority said the initiative supports a strong, sustainable insurance market built on data, innovation and AI, in line with the National Insurance Strategy and Saudi Vision 2030.

The programme has four stages: registration from October 18 to November 7, 2026; screening and admission from November 7 to 10; the hackathon itself, with judging, from November 12 to 14, 2026, at The Garage in Riyadh; and an awards ceremony at the ingate 2026 global insurance conference and exhibition, November 16 to 18.

Prize money totals SAR 560,000, with three winners in each track receiving SAR 80,000, SAR 40,000 and SAR 20,000, plus places in the incubation and acceleration programmes. All applicants gain access to a perks and services platform with an estimated value of more than $2 million and over 172 benefits and digital tools, subject to each provider's eligibility rules.

The hackathon is open to university students, developers, technologists, innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, insurtech firms and industry experts. Participants will be supported with introductory webinars, specialised workshops and mentoring in five areas: insurance, technology, product, entrepreneurship and business. Registration is open at https://il.ia.gov.sa/ until November 7, 2026.