RIYADH, 12 October — The traffic department has presented a new executive plan for car insurance to Interior Minister Prince Naif for his endorsement, according to the department’s director Brig. Fahd Saud Al-Bishr.
He did not disclose the details of the plan but pointed out that the Council of Ministers has given Prince Naif all necessary power to introduce a gradual implementation of the system within three years.
The department is set to implement the system by the middle of Ramadan (Nov. 20) on foreign vehicles entering the Kingdom.
Drivers who fail to take out an insurance policy from one of the companies approved by the Kingdom will be fined between SR100 and SR300.
The Shoura Council recently decided to establish an authority for the supervision of insurance companies, which will be monitored by the Commerce Ministry and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).
Brig. Bishr added that foreign vehicles driving into the Kingdom during the Haj season should take out a comprehensive insurance policy.
The National Company for Cooperative Insurance (NCCI) has already set the insurance premiums to be imposed on various vehicle owners as per the Cabinet decision.
According to the company, SR550 will be charged on private vehicle drivers who are under 21 years of age and SR360 on drivers over 21.
Ahmad Al-Shoalan, marketing manager of the company, told Arab News that NCCI is the only company to have been licensed to provide car insurance services within the Kingdom.
A new law must be passed to allow other companies to provide the service, he added.
“We have already started providing the compulsory car insurance service,” Shoalan said.
The company had increased its coverage value from SR3 million to SR5 million, he said.
