RIYADH, 21 May — Saudi Arabia is likely to enforce mandatory third party insurance for vehicles soon as the country’s Shoura Council yesterday passed a law in this regard. The law will come into effect once it is endorsed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.
“The Shoura meeting today approved a proposal on making third party cooperative insurance compulsory for all drivers in the Kingdom as well as those who drive through its territory,” Dr. Hamoud Al-Badr, the council’s secretary-general told the Saudi Press Agency.
Al-Badr said yesterday’s Council meeting was devoted to discussing the vehicle insurance issue. “Some 31 members took part in the discussions. They included supporters and opponents of the scheme,” he added.
The insurance will cover vehicles, property, death and damages to victims of an accident in which the insured party is involved, a reliable source said. The third party insurance will solve the problem of drivers who are involved in accidents but do not have the means to pay damages.
Several studies have revealed that most drivers involved in accidents were unable to pay damages. These drivers remain in prison until their obligations are met. There are about six million cars in the country.
The new measure is significant as the number of road accidents in the Kingdom is one of the highest in the world. Traffic accidents kill at least 3,000 people and injure more than 26,000 in the Kingdom annually. The accidents also result in a loss of more than SR7 billion.
The government is expected to implement a cooperative health insurance scheme shortly for the country’s six million expatriate workers and their families. The scheme will be applicable to every wage earning expatriate worker.
