RIYADH, 20 April 2003 — The Kingdom’s insurance market, estimated at SR3.5 billion annually, is expected to surge to a whopping SR10 billion, with the Kingdom’s decision to open up the insurance sector to foreign companies.
“In view of the fierce competition that the Saudi market will now face, we have decided to move aggressively in the market by opening 120 outlets of our company throughout the Kingdom,” Omar H. Al-Bakheet, managing director of Aman Cooperative Insurance & Reinsurance, told Arab News. The company is capitalized at SR100 million.
Al-Bakheet disclosed that with the conclusion of the war in Iraq, the hike in the insurance cover has been rolled back. “We can now focus on a balanced growth across a broad spectrum of insurance products,” he observed.
In this context, the managing director said he would be going abroad soon to sign a contract with a major European insurance firm, which will provide advisory service to them in the context of the Saudi medical insurance market, expected to grow to SR150 billion in the next five years.
Referring to the growth potential in the market, he said the government’s decision to make medical and driving license insurance compulsory would give a big boost to the insurance sector. Insurance cover for the driving license was necessary, as many of the drivers were unable to bear the liabilities in the event of a car accident.
He said driving license insurance fills in that gap. Similarly, medical malpractice insurance is another promising area, since it would protect doctors in case they incur a liability during treatment. “We also expect a new regulation to be issued by the government to make the insurance of all imported products mandatory,” the executive said.
