JEDDAH: The National Committee for Transport at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce has called for an independent committee to carry out the compensation procedures for car rental companies harmed by the Jeddah floods. There are 9,000 cars owned by these companies that were damaged during the floods, with losses estimated at SR100 million. These cars cannot be used on the streets for several months. Sa'eed Bin Ali Al-Bassami, Deputy Chairman of the committee, said the committee has sent an urgent letter to the Director General of Civil Defense calling on him to intervene and to begin receiving applications from car rental companies. The Civil Defense has refused to handle these applications over the past month. Al-Bassami said that investors are losing more money because of this situation. In the letter – a copy was sent to Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister – the committee said, “The stance of the Civil Defense is harming investors.” It expressed hope that an urgent solution would be found for this problem, because many cars were damaged. Al-Bassami said the majority of rental companies affected are those located on Palestine Street. He ruled out the possibility of car rental company owners getting compensation from insurance companies. He said insurance companies do not cover natural disasters like floods. Al-Bassami said car rental companies were more cautious now because of the possibility of rain that might lash the coastal city over the coming 10 days. He said four-wheel-drive vehicles are in greater demand in the market at present. He stressed the importance of reaching an agreement with the insurance companies so that insurance policies cover natural disasters. There are an estimated 600 licensed car rental companies in Jeddah, and several other unlicensed companies, renting out an estimated 45,000 cars. The car rental market faces many challenges, including clients not returning cars on specified dates and times, and not paying the due rental fee.
