Listening to the good tidings that traffic officials and insurance executives have been showering on us in a sustained media campaign aimed at making motorists subscribe to the newly introduced mandatory rukhsa (driving license) insurance system, the mind boggles at the ample benefits resulting from such schemes.
People were told that if they bought the rukhsa insurance policy, the holder of the license would be insured against damages sustained by a third party including the diyah (blood money), injuries and compensation for the damage sustained by their vehicles.
The public believed the nice talk and flocked to insurance offices to subscribe to the new scheme. But when it was put to the test, the picture was totally different from what we were told.
This paper recently published the story of a Saudi man involved in a car accident that led to another person sustaining injuries. Instead of being protected as required under the policy, the poor man found himself being thrown in jail. He thought the insurance document he carried would protect him from being detained by the traffic police. He was mistaken, and the promises offered by the insurance company turned out to be empty words. When the man inquired about the reason for being kept in jail despite his insurance policy, he was told he would only benefit from the policy in case of the death of the other person involved in the accident.
This is a very serious matter. If this is true, it contradicts the declared objective of the whole insurance scheme. Does this mean motorists involved in accidents resulting in injuries to third parties have to finish off the injured in order to benefit?
We hope this twisted logic does not apply, but we need to hear from those involved that the rukhsa insurance system does not sanction this. If it does not, an investigation into the case should be launched to prevent such injustice from happening again.
Arab News From the Local Press 1 February 2003
