High crash rate for Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s shockingly high crash rate is providing cause for concern. Research suggests that the country could see up to 1.1 million road crashes in 2016. This data comes from statistics provided by Najm Insurance Services of Saudi Arabia. The firm’s studies suggest that the number of motor vehicle crashes in the country could increase from 962,000 in 2015 and top 1.1 million in 2016. The insurance firm estimates that 17 people/day die due to road crashes in Saudi Arabia. It is also estimated that less than 45% of cars in Saudi Arabia are insured even though third-party motor vehicle insurance is mandatory. Insurers paid a total of US$6.67 billion for motor crash claims over last five years. The annual loss ratio has exceeded 100% after including sales, marketing and general administrative expenses that accounted for 15-20% of total sales. Insurers also have to deal with rising cost of spare parts and increase in fraud cases. According to a report by the World Health Organisation, Saudi Arabia is ranked 23rd in the world for number of deaths caused by road crashes.