An insurance industry expert has said that strict Health Insurance Council rules have driven companies to practices, which if not illegal, could be considered unethical. Fuad Al-Sanna' said that high coverage rates set by the Health Insurance Council at a minimum of SR250,000 and a ceiling of SR1 million have prompted dubious practices such as intentionally delaying by up to two months the delivery of insurance cards so that recipients do not benefit from the entire period of coverage and instructing card holders to seek treatment at medical facilities at discouraging distances from their places of work or residence. This latter tactic, according to Al-Sanna', forces some persons to seek emergency treatment at their own expense. “There are only five specialist insurance companies in the Kingdom out of a total of 35 firms,” Al-Sanna' said. “While specialist insurance firms work exclusively in medical insurance, other licensed companies provide health cover as only one aspect of their insurance work,” he said. The Kingdom, according to Al-Sanna', should have at least 10 specialist insurance firms “given that the Health Insurance Council requires companies to own capital of at least SR200 million”.
