RIYADH, 26 July 2006 — For the first time ever, a major insurance company in the Kingdom is seeking to compensate Saudi citizens whose vehicles have been damaged by the on-going Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
“The compensation will cover all clients’ vehicles that have full insurance and whose agreement with the company covers nearby countries,” said Ali Al-Subaiheen, executive director of the National Company for Cooperative Insurance (NCCI), here yesterday.
He said Saudis who are entitled to the compensation scheme would be those who have had a full-package insurance on their vehicles that entitles them for compensation to their vehicles in case of theft, accidents, arson and natural disasters, as well as coverage that includes Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
Many insurance policies worldwide exempt so-called “acts of God” — natural disasters — and war-related damages. NCCI made this announcement to clarify that it would indeed provide compensation for vehicles covered in this act of war as an act of solidarity with the people whose property was damaged due to Israel’s offensive against Lebanon.
“The company plans on endorsing the non-natural disaster scheme which includes damages to vehicles from wars, civil wars, or offensive attacks to support our clients in Lebanon in such difficult circumstances,” he added, pointing out that about 1,000 vehicles with NCCI coverage may have entered Lebanon in the past month.
Customers may visit the nearest NCCI branch or call its toll free number 800-124-9990 starting Saturday.
NCCI reportedly paid more than SR328 million in claims by approximately 51,000 clients whose vehicles were insured last year. As of this year, the company has paid more than SR152 million in damages to cover about 32,000 claims in the Kingdom.
