Lack of skilled manpower and poor awareness about insurance products are the biggest challenges for the budding insurance industry in the Kingdom, said insurance experts. They also said another problem that needs to be addressed is the availability of very few to absence of healthcare providers in the remote regions of the Kingdom. Ali S. Al-Ghamdi, chief of an insurance company, said the challenges facing the insurance sector has been hampering the growth of insurance companies in the Kingdom. Al-Ghamdi was speaking at a press conference to announce the opening of a branch of Salama Islamic Arab Insurance Company in Riyadh on Monday. Al-Ghamdi said Salama, headquartered in Dubai has received license from Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency (SAMA) in 2007 after a paid up capital of SR100 million and since then opened around 10 branches across the Kingdom. The company is in the process of opening five more branches, one in Khamis Mushyat, Jubail, Taif and Yanbu. “The stark reality is that there is a huge shortage of skilled manpower to work in the insurance sector and the Labor Ministry's reluctance to issue work visa has further aggravated the problem,” he said. He added that the Saudi authorities issued license to 16 insurance companies to operate in the Kingdom. However, due to the lack of required facilities including skilled manpower and adequate healthcare providers, only six, including the National Cooperative Insurance Company (NCCI), are so far active in the Kingdom, he said. “Despite all odds our company has achieved 56 percent of Saudization, thanks to Salama's efficient HR department that trained the fresh Saudi university graduates to be the productive in the field of insurance,” he said. He said the local recruitment of foreigners posed other challenges such as delayed or denial of transfer of sponsorship. Finding well-equipped healthcare providers in the remote areas is yet another challenge for the insurance companies to start their operations in rural districts of the country, he said, adding that a construction worker hardly finds even an ambulance let alone healthcare provider between rural areas of Taif and Baha. As a step toward simplifying services in insurance sector, Salama pioneered by setting up offices on a pattern based on a combination of retail banking and other trading outlets, he said. He said the latest concept has been aimed at introducing the insurance products in a way that attracts the policy seekers to easily understand and avail of all various types of insurance offered in Saudi Arabia. “Salama outlet located at posh Olaya Street not only offers easy access, but it is equally simple to transact dealings, as any client does in retail banking,” he said. However, the poor level of awareness about different insurance products is another challenge that needs to be addressed effectively, he said. He said his company has been engaged in creating awareness by hosting community meetings in local areas of different cities and with the participation of head of the families. Barboud said Salama's Riyadh branch will serve both individual and institutional clients by offering them immediate response and quality services not seen in the insurance sector before. Khalid Barboud, general manager, and Hamd Al-Hailey, planning and operation manager were also present. __
