Comprehensive Car Insurance in Saudi Arabia

You can’t drive and have a car in Saudi Arabia without car insurance. Without it you aren’t able to register your vehicle. Plus, if you’re involved in an accident without insurance, then you can expect to fork out a lot of money for the damage. In a country that has a relatively high accident rate, you’ll want to be covered.

But when it comes to taking out a car insurance policy, what should you look out for?

Having the right car insurance policy could end up saving you a bucket load of dinars. And in order to get the policy that suits your needs, it’s best to stay clued up on how insurers calculate their prices.

Here are some of our tips to help you make sense of car insurance.

Research and review                                  

Do your homework to work out the type of cover you want or need. There are two main types of policy to choose from: third-party and comprehensive insurance. In Saudi, if you want to drive, you need to have third-party coverage at a minimum.

Third party insurance covers only the car that you may cause damage to in an accident, while comprehensive cover offers complete protection whether you caused the accident or not. Although third-party insurance will be cheaper on the face of it, in the long run, comprehensive insurance will end up saving you money if you ever cause an accident.

Compare prices

Once you’ve figured out what sort of car insurance policy will work for you, it’s time to find the right price. Comparing prices online will help you find the cheapest price for your model of car. Finding the first car insurance policy may seem like the easiest option, but there’s a big chance you’ll end up paying more for less. So, compare before you choose because there might be better prices out there that you just haven’t seen yet.

With that in mind, while the minimum driving age is 18 in Saudi, most insurance companies won’t provide fully comprehensive policies to anyone under the age of 25. There are policies available for younger drivers, but be aware that these will be more expensive.

Consider your car model

As you will quickly learn, different cars cost different amounts to insure. For example, what you’ll pay to insure a 2016 Range Rover will be substantially more than insuring a 2005 Toyota Camry.

Typically, a fast, sporty or luxury car will always cost more than a family car. So always be sure to consider your insurance costs when you’re looking at buying a new car.

Make sure you have a good record

You want to make sure you can be trusted by insurers. And unfortunately, you’ll be charged more for car insurance if you have more accidents (whether they were your fault or not). Ideally, you should be building up a ‘no-claims record’. This is a record that says you haven’t claimed on your insurance policy, meaning the insurer hasn’t had to pay for any repairs. Aim to ensure that your no-claims record is as incident-free as possible.

Your driving style will also influence your car insurance cost. If you’ve earned yourself loads of fines, and managed to get plenty of black points on your licence, you may find your insurance premiums are higher. After all, you’ll be considered by the insurer as a riskier driver. Drive safely, and you’ll find you can get cheaper insurance.

So, if you think you need to change your driving habits then not only will save you money on your car insurance, but it will also make the roads safer, lowering insurance prices for everyone!