Sixty-six insurance companies have presented letters of intent to operate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to Ali Al-Ghaith, a senior official at Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. Gaith, who is director of the department for banking inspection and insurance, said insurance companies are allowed to provide reinsurance services as per SAMA rules. "We hope that reinsurance services between companies will be within the acceptable limits to be managed locally," he told Al-Eqtisadiah, a sister publication of Arab News. SAMA has given insurance companies two months from now to apply for licenses. It has set Feb. 9 as the last date to receive applications. The Kingdom's health insurance market, estimated at SR8 billion, is expected to pass SR18 billion within the next five years, according to Dr. Abdul Ilah Saati, chairman of the insurance council at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The contribution of the insurance sector to the gross domestic product will increase from the present 0.7 percent to 3.7 percent, he said. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency reported a 9.8 percent increase in the Kingdom's medical insurance to SR260.9 million last year. Medical insurance soared after the Kingdom introduced the cooperative health insurance scheme on expatriate workers in 2002. The insurance market will receive another big boost in February when the government intends to apply the scheme to Saudis working in the private sector.
