Saudi Arabia: Insurers develop unified database to handle motor claims
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2017
Saudi Arabia’s insurance companies have created a unified database to enable insurers to conduct background checks on the history of claimants, following the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority’s (SAMA) decision to offer no-claim discounts on individual mandatory motor insurance for policyholders.
Under this initiative, insurers will be able to access the records of the insured, after obtaining the required prior regulatory approvals, to ensure whether or not the record is claim free. The database will also help to reduce the amount of time and effort needed to obtain certificates about claims which in the past meant dealing at times with multiple companies.
“These instructions aim to protect the insured, provide advantages for policyholders whose insurance records are free of claims, promote fair competition between insurance companies, ensure better insurance services at competitive prices and more importantly, encourage everyone to drive more safely and comply with traffic rules and regulations so that traffic related death, physical injuries disabilities and loss of property can be greatly reduced,” Mr Adel Al Eisa, official spokesman for insurance companies, was quoted as saying to the local media.
He added that the non-claimer discount is calculated based on the number of years a policyholder has not made a claim. Furthermore, the discount could go up to 15% to be applied to the rates in force for insurance policies extending to one year with no claim being made, and will increase according to the number of years without a claim, going up to 30% for three years where no claim has been made.
As part of its effort to drive awareness of the new instructions among all targeted stakeholders, the Insurance Executive Committee (IEC) has launched an awareness campaign “Safe Driving #Safety_&_Discounts”, in conjunction with the launch of the IEC official account on Twitter (@saudinsurance). This will serve as a new and direct channel to communicate with customers of the insurance sector in Saudi Arabia.
According to a directive from the SAMA, insurance companies in Saudi Arabia are required to provide no-claim policyholders with a discount when pricing individual mandatory motor insurance policies with effect from 1 April. M