Saudi Arabia: Proportion of insured vehicles could rise to 80%
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Mar 2018
The proportion of insured vehicles in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase by around 20 percentage points to 80% in the next two years, following a decision by the General Directorate of Traffic to automatically check insurance records in cases where drivers have committed traffic violations, analysts said. Presently, the percentage of insured vehicles in the Kingdom is less than 60%.
The move is part of a cooperation pact signed recently by SAMA and the General Directorate of Traffic.
Under the agreement, the Traffic Department will check the vehicle register when a driver violates any traffic rule. The register is also linked to insurance records.
If there is no record of insurance for the vehicle at the time of the traffic violation, the traffic system automatically adds another violation to the record of the vehicle under the heading “No insurance policy”.
The move is expected to increase insurance awareness among the public, according to local media reports.
Last May, the Traffic Department said that it would soon start slapping uninsured vehicles with the fine of up to SAR150 (US$40) for such a violation.
SAMA has also asked that there be a link between the renewal of the driver’s licence and the insurance of the vehicle.
To promote road safety, SAMA has previously instructed insurers to continue to give safe drivers a discount of up to 15% for another six months to 30 June 2018 on premiums for all types of comprehensive and compulsory motor insurance policies. This campaign was previously carried out from 1 August to 31 December 2017. Vehicle owners are not entitled to the discount if their vehicles are new, or they do not have an insurance policy, or because the policy has expired for over a month. M
SAR1 = US$0.27