Procedure to claim Insurance after car accident

After a car accident in Saudi Arabia, you have to follow a certain procedure to report it to either Najm or traffic police, get the damage evaluated by Taqdeer and claim money from the insurance company. We have explained the entire process in this article.

Procedure after a Car accident in Saudi Arabia

• Procedure after a Car accident in Saudi Arabia
  • Don’t move your car
  • Call Najm or Traffic Police
  • Accident Report by Traffic police or Najm
  • Get the Accident Report stamped by the Traffic Police
• Claim insurance after the car accident in Saudi Arabia
  • Traffic Accident Damage Evaluation – Taqdeer
  • Submit the Insurance Claim to Najm
  • Check the Insurance claim submitted by Najm
• Hit and run cases
• Traffic accidents causing death or injuries
• FAQs

Don’t move your car

You cannot move your vehicle unless someone from the traffic police or Najm comes to establish the responsibility.

Call Najm or Traffic Police

In the case of a traffic accident, you either need to call Najm or Traffic Police.

• Call traffic police at 993 if;
  • none of the party involving in a traffic accident has insurance or,
  • there is fire, injury or death in a car accident.
• Call Najm at 920000560 if any party involving in a car accident has valid insurance. Najm is a company authorized by the traffic police to deal with accident cases involving insurance claims. Recommended: How to get cheap car insurance in Saudi Arabia?

How to call Najm through Application?

After the accident, you can either call at the Najm helpline or follow the below-mentioned procedure through their application. It is easier to call Najm through the application as you can share with them the exact location where the incident took place.

• Download the Najm App from either Playstore or iTunes.
• Select the English language and enter your mobile number. The system will send you a verification code which you need to enter to verify your account.
• In the next step, allow the Najm app to access location, photos, and media of your mobile.
• Press the “Add Vehicles” button from the options and register the vehicle as your vehicle. Once the vehicle is added to the list, you would be able to see the car insurance policy number, vehicle insurance validity and the name of the insurance company. You can add a vehicle using either;
  • Plate Number
  • Vehicle Sequence Number
  • Custom ID
  • Chassis Number

• Next, you can go to the Home screen in the Najm app and click on the “Report Accident” button.
• The system will ask if at least one person involving in the traffic accident has valid insurance and there is no death or injury as a result of the accident.  You will have to answer it with “YES”.
• In the next step, add the details of the other car which was involved in the accident. Once added, you need to take photos of the cars and upload them to the Najm system.
• Soon, you will be assigned with a surveyor to determine the level of mistakes of the parties involving in a traffic accident.

Accident Report by Traffic police or Najm

Once the traffic police or Najm arrives at the accident location, they will figure out the level of mistake of each party by looking at all the cars and listening to the drivers. Keep in mind that if you hit someone from the back, it is 100% your mistake. After the evaluation, they will issue you the accident report.

If you were driving a rental car, you need to contact the company from whom you have taken the car. They will complete the rest of the process.

You can check the status of your accident report by entering the accident number and mobile number through this link.

Get the Accident Report stamped by the Traffic Police

Nex step in the procedure is to visit the traffic police station nearest to the car accident place in Saudi Arabia and get the accident report stamped by them. They will check your Iqama and Istimara before stamping the accident report.

• You will have to pay a fine if you don’t stamp your accident report within 7 days.
• In order to find the nearest police station, go to the same place where the accident took place and search “Traffic Police” on Google maps. It will refer you to the nearest Muroor office.

Now you can proceed to repair the vehicle from an outside mechanic in the following cases;

• If you don’t have insurance.
• It was 100% your mistake and you have third-party insurance.

Claim insurance after the car accident in Saudi Arabia

Traffic Accident Damage Evaluation – Taqdeer

The next step is to go to a damage evaluation center authorized by the government. If the accident took place in Riyadh or Jeddah, you can go to Taqdeer center for the traffic accident damage evaluation. Otherwise, you can ask any Najm or traffic police officer for the location to go for the damage evaluation.

• Taqdeer Riyadh: https://goo.gl/maps/uirYoPxGTSdPcmW6A
• Taqdeer Jeddah: https://goo.gl/maps/cJBSHM5jav3t1YDj7

At Taqdeer, they will take pictures of your car, register your mobile number and process the application. You will receive a traffic accident damage evaluation report from Taqdeer within 2 days containing the value of spare parts and labor charges required to repair the vehicle.

Submit the Insurance Claim to Najm

In the next procedure to claim insurance money for a car accident in Saudi Arabia, you need to submit the damage evaluation report along with your bank details to the Najm office. Make sure you print your bank details on a separate paper along with IBAN.

• If you have comprehensive insurance and the accident reports hold you 100% responsible for the accident, you need to submit the insurance claim to your insurance company.

Check the Insurance claim submitted by Najm

After submitting the documents, you can always check the insurance claim on the Najm website. In order to do that, open the following link and enter your claim number and captcha code. https://www.najm.sa/en/ClaimDetails

The following message shows that the accident claim has been successfully submitted by Najm to the insurance company and you have completed the procedure. It will take around two weeks to get the money from the insurance company.

Hit and run cases

If you fail to stop your vehicle at the place of accident, it is considered as a hit and run case for which you can be fined with SR 10,000 and jailed for 3 months in Saudi Arabia.

In hit and run cases of car accidents, you need to follow a separate procedure in Saudi Arabia. What you need to do in case of hit and run cases depends upon the type of insurance you have.

Hit and Run – Third-party Insurance

If you have third party insurance in Saudi Arabia and somebody hits your car and runs away, you need to;

• Note down the car number plate of the vehicle running away.
• Submit the accident report to the traffic police.
• Get the repair damage assessment and submit it to the Muroor.
• Repair the vehicle.

Hit and Run – Comprehensive Insurance

If you have comprehensive insurance in Saudi Arabia and somebody hits your car and runs away, you need to;

• Note down the car number plate of the vehicle running away.
• Submit the accident report to the traffic police and get repair permission.
• Get the repair damage assessment from Taqdeer.
• Submit the insurance claim to your insurance company.

Traffic accidents causing death or injuries

A motorist caught causing a serious traffic accident that results in deaths will be;

• Jailed for 4 years and,
• fine with SR 200,000.

A motorist caught causing a serious traffic accident causing injuries that last for more than 15 days will be;

• Jailed for 2 years and,
• fine with SR 100,000.

Major Causes of Road Accidents in Saudi Arabia

According to a study, the following are the 8 major causes of traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia;

1. Over-Speeding.
2. Aggressive driving.
3. Ignoring red lights on Traffic Signals.
4. Lack of lane discipline.
5. Including passing on the inside and on the hard shoulder.
6. Stunt driving.
7. Using a mobile telephone while driving.
8. Underage drivers.

FAQs

How long after a car accident can you claim for damage?

You can claim for damages by submitting the insurance claim to the Najm office as soon as you are ready with the Traffic Accident Damage Evaluation – Taqdeer. Normally after 3 to 4 days of a traffic accident, you can file the insurance claim for damages.

What is a fair settlement for car accident?

Taqdeer is an independent company hired by the Saudi government to establish the fair settlement of every car accident. Generally, the amount of settlement calculated by them is fair. However, there is no way to challenge their settlement.
 

Should I call insurance after a small accident?

As we have stated earlier, you need to call Najm after the traffic accident. There is no need to call insurance for third party insurance or if it was the mistake of the other party in comprehensive insurance. However, if Najm establishes that it was your mistake in an accident and you have comprehensive insurance, you should call Najm.
 

Do insurance companies send you a cheque?

A couple of years ago, insurance companies used to ask people to collect cheques from their offices in Saudi Arabia. However, now they make a bank transfer directly to the account written on the claim form submitted to the Najm.