| Saturday, 21, January, 2006 (21, Dhul Hijjah, 1426) Pilgrimage Insurance Proposed P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News |
| JEDDAH, 21 January 2006 A prominent insurance expert has called for the introduction of insurance service to foreign pilgrims coming for Haj and Umrah as part of the governments efforts to provide them with better health services and facilities. Dr. Abdalelah Saaty, chairman of the insurance council at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, however, said such insurance policies should not be made mandatory on pilgrims. It will not be possible to impose insurance on all pilgrims, Saaty told Arab News. He said a number of Saudi companies have already expressed their desire to offer a variety of insurance policies to pilgrims, covering services such as health care, lost baggage, accommodation, air ticket and airlift of body in case of death. Insurance is good for pilgrims as itll help them receive better services in addition to the services offered by the government, Saaty pointed out. He said insurance premiums for such services must be moderate and affordable to
pilgrims. According to a report carried by Al-Watan Arabic daily yesterday, Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie has already presented a study on the possibility of applying health insurance on foreign pilgrims and visitors to higher authorities. Such a scheme is already in place in many other countries where insurance premiums are added to ticket fares of visitors, the paper said quoting Dr. Yasser Al-Ghamdi, director general of health in the Makkah region. However, Al-Ghamdi said the plan to introduce health insurance on foreign pilgrims was still being studied by the Council of Ministers. Once the scheme is
approved, insurance companies will be allowed to provide the service to Haj and Umrah pilgrims as well as other foreign visitors, he added. Saaty, who is professor of insurance at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, said a good number of (at least 10,000) pilgrims should join the scheme to make it feasible. He said such insurance services should be approved first by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), which must make sure that the insurance companies fulfilled their promises to the pilgrims. As the service is provided to people from other countries, a government body like SAMA should oversee the service to make sure that it is done in the right manner, he said. Saaty favored a gradual
implementation of the service in coordination with the Haj and health ministries. He disclosed that some Southeast Asian pilgrims were already enjoying the fruit of such insurance services. |
Yahoo! Photos Showcase holiday pictures in hardcover
Photo Books. You design it and well bind it!
***************************************************************************
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise.
If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
- Visit your group "islamcity" on the web.
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
