JEDDAH — Tawuniya, Saudi Arabia’s first insurance company, has embarked on a major project to provide insurance coverage to the millions of foreign pilgrims who come to the Kingdom for Haj and Umrah. The company has signed agreements with Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company in Manama and Al-Ain Ahlia Insurance Company in the UAE to market the product titled “Manasik.” The new insurance service, which is provided for the first time, targets 1.5 million Haj pilgrims and more than five million Umrah pilgrims.
Fahd Al-Hasani, executive vice president of Tawuniya for properties and accidents, said providing health care to the millions of pilgrims has been one of the major concerns of the Saudi authorities.
According to statistics issued by the Health Ministry in 2005, its hospitals in Makkah and other holy sites provided health care to more than 11,000 pilgrims. Health centers in the holy cities treated 812,000 pilgrims during the period.
“The Manasik program offers practical solutions to the health care problems of foreign pilgrims during their stay in the Kingdom,” Al-Hasani said.
The Manasik insurance policy, with a premium of SR100, covers medical expenses up to SR25,000 ($6,666) from the pilgrim’s arrival in the Kingdom for one month.
Under the policy, Tawuniya will provide compensation up to SR50,000 ($13,333) for deaths as a result of injuries. It will also meet expenses up to SR10,000 ($2,600) to transport pilgrims’ bodies to their countries. “The premium of SR100 is affordable for all groups of pilgrims,” he said.
He said the Bahraini and UAE companies would work as Tawuniya’s agents in Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE to market Manasik among potential pilgrims in the three countries.
Al-Hasan disclosed plans to hold talks with companies in other Arab and Islamic countries to market Manasik as part of his company’s efforts to provide the service to all foreign pilgrims.
About four years ago the Health Ministry announced plans to provide health insurance coverage to pilgrims in coordination with the ministries of interior, foreign affairs and Haj.
The move came as part of the government’s efforts to reduce public health expenditures. Up to now the government has provided health services free of charge to the millions of pilgrims.
The government intends to apply the cooperative insurance scheme to all Saudis shortly. In a previous statement, Khaled Al-Mirghalani, spokesman for the Health Ministry, said a national cooperative fund would be established to provide free health insurance coverage for all Saudis.
“The new health insurance scheme will cover all Saudi citizens, except those who are already given coverage by their employers,” he told Arab News.
Saudis receiving insurance coverage under the new plan will be entitled to receive free medical service at private and public hospitals, the spokesman said.
Mirghalani said the fund, to be financed by the government, would provide health insurance coverage to more than 12 million citizens.
Saudi Arabia has already implemented mandatory health insurance scheme on the country’s seven million expatriates. Health insurance coverage is now obligatory in order for foreign workers to obtain resident permits or iqamas. At present, there are about 1,000 health insurance providers in the Kingdom.
