Dealers asked insurance companies operating in the local market to extend the validity of car documents free of charge while restricting traffic for a period of at least two months or six months for owners of clean records free of accidents, while applying the pricing mechanism based on the number of kilometers traveled.

They told «Emirates Today» that insurance companies like other sectors are required to contribute to the initiatives launched by various authorities in the country due to the repercussions of the new Corona virus, indicating that the rate of traffic accidents may decrease to large levels while restricting movement, and thus costs will decrease Maintenance and repair at insurance companies.

Incentive measures

In detail, the trader Ahmed Abdel-Razzaq demanded insurance companies operating in the local market to take incentive measures towards their dealers regarding auto insurance in line with the current exceptional circumstances, pointing out that his vehicle insurance policy expires at the beginning of next month, and based on that he contacted the insurance broker to identify any incentives in This framework.

Abdel-Razzaq added: “After being acquainted with the incentives and many of the initiatives put forward by government agencies and companies, finally, due to the repercussions of the (Korna) virus, I asked the insurance broker to extend the validity of the policy for a month, since I stopped using the vehicle for about the month of March except for some limited cases.” .

He continued that «the mediator confirmed that he had not received from the insurance companies in general any facilities in this framework, and he also confirmed that he would refer my request to the insurance company to obtain a response from them».

Usage rate

For its part, the customer (Umm Samer) said that she usually uses her car during the weekends only, but with the implementation of traffic restriction measures, she rarely moves the vehicle now, indicating that insurance companies are required to price documents according to the rate of use, and pay the cost based on Mileage.

She added that "insurance companies are required to implement equitable initiatives towards their customers. The policy price for a vehicle traveling for a distance of about 500 kilometers per week compared to another traveling for a distance of 100 km" cannot be observed, noting that "under the current circumstances, companies must take into account the conditions Dealers whose motor vehicle movement is at record levels. ”

She suggested that companies can extend the validity of existing documents from 13 to 15 months for free, which would give customers some time under these conditions.

Clean records

In turn, the client Suad Al-Jaber agreed with Umm Samer regarding the extension of the validity of the vehicle insurance policy, adding that the extension should extend to six months, especially for those with clean records who did not cause any accident during the past period.

She stated that drivers should be differentiated according to their records of traffic accidents, noting that she would write to the insurance company via mail and ask her to extend the validity of her insurance policy to a reasonable period.

She noted that dealers are required to renew their vehicles to ensure safety standards on the roads of the country, but they are obligated to purchase the insurance policy to complete this procedure.

Community contribution

In the same context, the trader Suhail Al-Basha said that insurance companies, like other sectors, are required to contribute to the initiatives launched by various entities, stressing that this will help dealers under these conditions, and it will also enhance the societal contribution of insurance companies.

He explained that with the restriction of movement, the rate of traffic accidents may decrease to large levels, and therefore the costs of maintenance and repair for insurance companies will in turn decline in large proportions as well, adding that insurance companies must take into account this matter during the renewal of insurance policies that will expire in the coming period.

full insurance

"The door is open for insurance companies to launch new initiatives specifically in the current circumstances," said Saeed Al Muhairi, CEO of United Gulf Insurance Brokers, pointing out that "coordination with the traffic departments and authorities can be done in this framework."

Al-Muhairi added that, “unlike health insurance, given its low profit margins, this initiative in the auto sector has received a great welcome from dealers, given the low rate of their use of vehicles.”

He explained that «the extension may include comprehensive insurance only considering that the insurance premiums against others are basically low», indicating that «the insurance policies are valid for a period of 13 months, and can be extended for an additional month in the current stage».

A proposal to extend two or six months to the owners of clean records.

Traffic accident rate may drop to large levels with restricted traffic.