Over 23,000 traffic accidents recorded in Oman by insurance companies

Muscat: Unaudited quarterly statements of the insurance sector for the first quarter of 2020 showed that the total number of traffic accidents was 23,800, including 4,100 major accidents and about 19,700 minor accidents.
The data showed that the claims for minor accidents grew by 9 per cent in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 when it was more than 20,400. 4,224 was the number of major accidents and the claims grew by 11 per cent.
The data recorded an increase in the number of traffic accidents claims resulted in damages, in addition to treatment expenses for physical injuries by 12 per cent compared to the same period in 2019. The number of claims for deaths increased by 6 per cent to 145 accidents.
Compensations paid by insurance companies for financial damage resulted from minor traffic accidents decreased by 26 per cent to OMR4.7 million and considerable increase in the claims for major traffic accidents by more than 300 per cent at OMR2.45 million. As to compensations related to major traffic accidents, which recorded financial damage, in addition to treatment expenses increased by 6 per cent at OMR1.3 million and the volume of compensations paid as Diya (Blood money) for deaths from traffic accidents decreased by 19 per cent compared to the same period in the past year at OMR285,000 as per the unaudited initial results of the first quarter of 2020.
Capital Market Authority (CMA) emphasises that compliance with safety requirements on the roads and abiding by traffic rules issued by ROP is the best way to avoid major traffic accidents and loss of properties and lives and that the insurance service would only mitigate the financial damage not the moral damage.