Jordan's 26 insurance companies posted net profits of more than JD17 million last year, a top executive said on Monday.
At a press conference held on Monday, secretary general of the Jordan Insurance Federation, Maher Hussein, said that mandatory insurance on local vehicles posted a total loss of JD5.3 million despite a hike in premiums by 100 per cent decided in the first quarter in 2002.
However, 23 out of the 25 member companies of the federation dealing in car insurance realised JD1.3 million in net profits from this sector for 2003.
According to the federation's chief, the loss in mandatory insurance was offset by profits achieved in insurance on non-Jordanian cars that have to pay insurance fees upon entry to the Kingdom, The Jordan Times reported.
Insurance companies made JD6 million last year from border insurance, according to the annual performance report issued by the federation Monday.
According to the president of the Jordan Society for the Prevention of Road Accidents, Mohammad Dabbas, road accidents rose to 62,117 in 2003 from 25,913 in the previous year. Fatalities stood last year at 832, compared to 758 in 2002. There was also an increase in the number of vehicles involved in accidents by 5.6 per cent over the last three years, while serious injuries rose by 7.3 per cent during the same period.
This reality led to an increase by 37.6 per cent in the compensations insurance companies paid for death, injuries and material damage involved in car accident last year, compared to the year before.
Vehicle insurance operations constitute 45 per cent of the overall insurance industry in Jordan. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
