Insurance companies have begun offering discounts on premiums to those who have maintained a clean driving record. The decision, which came into effect yesterday, follows a directive by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) to all insurance companies to introduce the discount scheme. In a statement last Wednesday, SAMA urged all insurance companies to comply with the decision, and called on customers to exercise their rights as guaranteed by the rules and regulations it had issued to this effect. It also encouraged customers to file any complaints of infringements of rights with SAMA. Last Thursday, SAMA issued the "Rules for Collecting and Sharing Insurance Information for Vehicles," to give customers greater access to their insurance records, and accordingly benefit from the discounts. SAMA has licensed a company to collect, preserve and share insurance information after receiving consent from the customer. The information, whether it belongs to a citizen or a resident, must be kept within the Kingdom only. This company, as well as third parties benefiting from its services, is not permitted to use the information for any purpose other than specified in the rules, such as for advertising products or services. The customer insurance record contains basic data, besides other important and data that would help in measuring the degree of risk and pricing of the insurance policy. It also records traffic violations and accident data after obtaining approval from the competent authorities. Damage assessments and claims are also recorded. The rules have defined the rights of customers with good credit records. The customer has the right to know the contact details of the insurance companies and authorized official bodies that have inquired about his insurance record. He can also file an objection if his insurance record contains incorrect information, and can request a correction. The customer has the right to object at any time to any insurance information contained in his insurance record due to outdated or incomplete data. The rules are essentially aimed at regulating the collection and preservation of insurance data, sharing them to improve the functioning of insurance companies, maintaining confidentiality of insurance information, and reducing fraud.
