A number of citizens and expatriates want the Kingdom's financial authorities to force defunct insurance companies to fulfill their contractual obligations including pay any money owed. Members of the public have recently complained on various social networking sites how some insurance companies have taken their premiums and then withdrawn from the marketplace. They say the behavior of these companies is similar to that of fake investment companies which dupe people into investing millions of riyals. Some said here that they are owed between SR18,000 and SR20,000 by these insurance companies. Khaldoun Bakri, head of the insurance committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said all licensed insurance companies operating in the country are obliged to fulfill their financial commitments toward their insured clients according to the rules of their policies, whether it is vehicle, medical or home insurance. He said there was stricter regulation introduced into the insurance market in the Kingdom three years ago when a Royal Order was issued tackling some legal loopholes. Before the Royal Order there were 70 establishments offering insurance services, most registered in Bahrain and other foreign countries. Under the order, 35 companies managed to rectify their status and were registered in the Kingdom as Saudi companies, while others closed shop without fulfilling their obligations toward their clients. Bakri said individuals want to buy insurance from licensed insurance companies that provide proper services. Meanwhile, a Saudi auditing firm has urged those with financial claims against the Saudi Leeds Insurance Company to submit their claims supported by the necessary documents within 30 days effective from the date of the publication of the announcement. The firm said it was assigned by the General Secretariat of the Committee for the Settlement of Disputes to probe and examine the claims against the company. __
