JEDDAH, 23 September 2005 — The National Company for Cooperative Insurance (NCCI) has launched a new type of vehicle liability insurance named Sanad, which provides a maximum third party cover of legal liabilities up to SR10 million.
The company said it introduced the new scheme to cover liabilities caused by the growing number of road accidents in the country. Saudi Arabia has the world’s largest number of traffic accidents incurring material losses worth billions of riyals.
Ahmed Al-Shoalan, NCCI’s marketing manager, said the new car insurance is offered for an annual premium of SR375 for private cars, adding that the amount is lower than the existing scheme of driving license insurance.
“The company takes full responsibility of the insured car and pays liabilities up to SR10 million at times of accidents,” he pointed out.
NCCI will pay up to SR5 million against the liability arising out of a traffic accident caused by the owner or the driver of the insured vehicle. It will also pay up to SR5 million for damages caused by an accident to public or private property.
The company would take responsibility of an insured car irrespective of who was driving it as long as the driver had a valid driving license. It pays a bail bond approved by the traffic department and ensures prompt release of the driver from police.
He said car insurance in the Kingdom grew by 253 percent this year compared to last year. He attributed the tremendous increase in car insurance to the growing awareness of drivers of its importance. The new vehicle liability insurance, which has been accepted by the traffic department, also covers accidents when the driver is not in the car, such as fire and if the vehicle rolls down a hill.
The vehicle insurance can be expanded to cover the driver and passengers in order to provide coverage at times of accidents.
“Another feature of the new insurance scheme is that it covers all types of motor vehicles and is not confined to a specific model,” Al-Riyadh Arabic daily quoted him as saying. All members of the family can use the same car with a single insurance scheme, he added.
