RIYADH, 21 May 2007 — NCCI, Saudi Arabia’s leading insurance company, announced yesterday that it was reducing prices on its international insurance package for a period of one month.
The company said that prices would be reduced between 15-20 percent compared to previous prices. The insurance package provides emergency funding for medical cases up to SR3 million. It also pays sums for accidents toward others up to SR1 million.
According to NCCI, several European countries require an international insurance scheme for tourists traveling to their countries. The countries specified by the company were Spain, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, France, Greece, Sweden, Luxemburg, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
The United Kingdom, one of the favorite destinations for Saudis, has not been mentioned.
Fahd Al-Hassni, deputy CEO for personal property and accidents at NCCI, said the international insurance scheme would cover all accidents and emergency cases during the trip abroad.
“It would also cover cases such as cancellation of flights, lost of personal belongings, delay of luggage arrival,” he said. In addition to adults, the package covers minors for free. Travel groups and families are given special prices, he added.
The NCCI official said that sales of international insurance packages have increased by 23 percent in the first quarter this year from the same period last year.
He said the international insurance package was first introduced in the Kingdom by NCCI in 1998.
According to reports, travelers from Saudi airports to destinations abroad are at its peak during summer, particularly in the months of June, July and August as schools and governments are closed.
The number of travelers from Saudi Arabia abroad annually is estimated at 12.5 million.
