MUSCAT -- Despite the rapid increase in the number of residential and commercial properties being built in recent years, the number of registered property insurance policies has witnessed only a marginal rise over the period. Further highlighting the risk to uninsured property owners is the increasing number of fire incidents being recorded in residential and commercial properties. The latest statistical bulletin issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) reveals that the total number of property insurance policies registered in the Sultanate stood at 14,009 by the end of 2012, while the number of registered fire incidents in residential facilities hit 899 the same year.
According to the NCSI figures, recorded cases of fire increased rapidly with 4,431 registered cases in 2012 compared to 2,540 cases in 2008. Of the 2012 total, 1,406 fire accidents occurred in waste receptacles, followed by 899 cases in residential and housing facilities, followed by 782 vehicle fires, and 594 fires recorded in agricultural properties and farms. The report shows a marginal increase in registered property insurance policies in the Sultanate, with 14,009 policies registered in 2012 compared with the 2010 total of 12,963 policies.
Meanwhile, the number of registered vehicle insurance policies stood at 972,289 in 2012, representing 88.5 per cent of all registered policies in the Sultanate. The number of registered life insurance policies increased in 2012, recorded at 30,487 compared to 12,768 life insurance policies registered in 2010. Vehicle insurance stayed on top of the list in terms of volume, accounting for 88.5 per cent of all registered insurance policies, with the remaining 11.5 per cent covering other types of insurance policies.
© Oman Daily Observer 2014
