party car insurance for private cars has dropped by more than 20 percent in the past two days, from SR350 to SR275, and has led to overcrowding at offices of companies offering new premiums. The reduction indicates that a price war is about to start among insurance companies, with intensive campaigns to market new cars through the hire-purchase system, which necessitates insuring the cars for up to five years, according to industry experts. This anticipated development comes as a report by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) shows that the Kingdom's insurance market, which was supported by expansion in compulsory insurance activities, continued strong growth in 2009. Total subscribed insurance installments in 2009 reached SR14.6 billion compared to SR10.9 billion in 2008, a growth rate of 33.8 percent in 2009 compared to 27.2 percent in 2008, the report said. The report, issued by SAMA's Insurance Monitoring Administration and entitled “The Saudi Insurance Market 2009,” said the total subscribed installments for health insurance has risen by 51.8 percent, to SR7.3 billion in 2009, compared to SR4.8 billion in 2008. The health insurance sector now forms 50 percent of the insurance field. Also, the total subscribed installments for general insurance reached 43 percent of the field, at 14.4 percent growth, and totaled SR6.3 billion in 2009 compared to SR5.5 billion in 2008. The report added that the total subscribed installments for protection and savings insurance has risen by 68.9 percent to reach SR1 billion in 2009 compared to SR 590 million in 2008. Figures were collected from 34 insurance and reinsurance companies, the report said.
