Frequently Asked Questions on General Takaful
Q: Why do I need travel insurance for my travel as nothing will happen to me?
A: It is better to be prepared for unexpected emergencies or mishaps that might happen especially whilst travelling overseas on vacation with your family. Furthermore, you may also need the travel insurance for visa purposes.
Q: Do I need to buy a separate personal accident plan with a Travel Takaful Plan?
A: No. SABB Takaful’s Travel Takaful plan covers personal accident that provides coverage against accidental death, injuries and disabilities.
Q: Is domestic travel in Saudi Arabia covered?
A: No, this is only for travel outside of Saudi Arabia.
Q: What is meant by ‘worldwide assistance’? Will they assist me whenever I need them, be it in Paris, London or anywhere in the world?
A: We have an agreement with International SOS to provide emergency assistance worldwide. The company has tie-up with hospitals and emergency services across the world. You can reach them 24 hours everyday through a toll-free number. Apart from medical assistance, they can also organise medical evacuation should such services be needed.
Q: Can I buy over the Internet?
A: No, not currently. However, we are planning to provide this service to customers in the near future. In the meantime, you can get a quotation online at www.sabbtakaful.com.
Q: Can I buy a plan over the phone?
A: You can buy our Travel Takaful Plan and Personal Accident Takaful Plan over the phone through our call centre and get immediate approval. The telephone number is 800 124 0005.
Q: What will happen if the airline cancels the flight?
A: Should the airline cancel the flight, you will be paid SAR150 for each full 12 hours delay, subject to a maximum of SAR1,500 per participant if you are covered with the Travel Takaful Plan.
Q: Will I be covered if I am in a war zone?
A: No. Such incidents are excluded from any travel plans worldwide.
Q: What happens if I am caught in a terrorist incident whilst travelling?
A: You are covered against terrorist incident whilst travelling. However, there are countries that fall under the exclusion list (Please refer to the brochures or terms and conditions).
Q: What do we need to do if we lose our baggage? How are we going to be compensated?
A: You need to report the loss to the local police, the airline or any other parties (e.g. hotel that you stayed in) who are responsible for the loss. On return from your journey, you have to submit a claim form to SABB Takaful Company, together with all the necessary supporting documents, including the value of the articles in the lost baggage. After evaluating the documents, the claims will be processed and the amount will be paid locally.
Q: What is the maximum amount of compensation for the loss of baggage? Is there a maximum amount per item?
A: The Company will pay up to SAR 10,000 for each adult participant and SAR 5,000 for each child. The compensation is also subject to a limit of SAR 1,500 per item for adult and SAR 750 per item for children.
Q: Why does the travel plan cost more for travel to USA and Canada?
A: The cost for medical emergency treatment in USA and Canada is greater compared to the rest of the world.
Q: Does the travel plan cover sports?
A: Yes. Normal sport activities are covered under the travel plan. However, this plan does not cover participants who are involved in professional sports. Also, certain type of sporting activities such as deep-water diving, motor rallies and other hazardous activities are excluded.
Q: Is this plan restricted only to certain airlines?
A; No. The cover is available irrespective of the mode of transport.
Q: What if the lost or stolen baggage or items were found?
A: The baggage will be returned to the participant and he or she will be asked to refund the compensation paid.
Q: Why are children under the age of six months not covered?
A: Children under the age of six months are still in infancy stage and they need extra and urgent care, as they fall ill easily. Hence, the frequency and severity prohibits us from granting coverage to them
Q: Is there a discount for annual plan’s auto renewal?
A: No. This facility is provided primarily for customers’ convenience and hence they do not have to go through the renewal process each year. This is also to avoid the risk of missing the renewal date
Q: How can I pay for my plan if I am not a SABB client?
A: You can pay the contribution amount to the plan using your credit card.
Q: Are there restrictions to the appointed beneficiary for my plan?
A: There are no restrictions on this issue as far as SABB Takaful Company is concerned. However, if the court states differently, the law within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will prevail. ( This explanation also applies to Personal Accident Plan.)
Q: What if I am ill before I go on a holiday and then require emergency treatment overseas. Am I covered?
A: If medical emergency arises out of the sickness that existed prior to the travel, the medical expenses for this treatment would be excluded.
Q: Are winter sports covered under Travel Takaful Plan?
A: Standard plan excludes winter sports, however the same could be covered by paying an additional contribution amount.
Q: Who could be covered under pne Travel Takaful Plan?
A: Self, spouse, children and parents (including parents-in law)
Q: Why do I need Personal Accident cover since the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI) provides for it?
A: GOSI provides limited compensation for accidents to the workforce whilst at work for both Saudis and non-Saudis. The cover provided by GOSI is standard across all industries with no option for individual employees and employers to choose. However Personal Accident Takaful plan covers you 24 x 7 worldwide and you have the choice to choose the level of benefits as per your requirement.
Q: After I purchased a plan, can I increase the coverage amount to my plan during the term of my plan?
A: Yes, you may select another plan with a higher coverage amount.
Q: Who is considered as the family member in this plan?
A: Family members are categorised as the immediate family, that is, the spouse(s) and the children.
Q: Why does this plan not cover premature delivery due to accident?
A: This is a simple and cost-effective plan to provide accidental coverage for everyone. Pregnancy and related issues are complicated and to include them in the plan will make the plan more complex and expensive. Hence, such incidents are excluded in the plan.
Q: Does the plan cover me if I am injures in a car accident?
A: Yes, the plan will provide financial coverage if you are injured in a car accident.
Q: Does the plan cover me even if I get some compensation from my employer?
A: The death and disability benefit will be paid irrespective whether participants get paid from other sources. However, medical expenses and repatriation costs can be claimed only from one source.
Q: Who could be covered under one Personal Accident Plan?
A: Self, Spouse and children could be covered in one plan.
Q: Does the Home Takaful Plan apply to the building protection only?
A: No. This plan primarily covers the contents of the home and, if you own a building in which you reside, the cover could be extended to the building too. Apart from the home content and building protection, this plan also covers your domestic servants.
Q: Why do the rates for the building and the contents differ?
A: A building is less prone to damages than its contents. The contents could be damaged easily and more frequently, for example bursting pipes, water leakage in the house or theft.
Q: Can I buy the Home Protection Takaful Plan even if I don’t own the building?
A: Yes. You can seek protection for your home contents, personal belongings, domestic servants and tenant liability even if you live in a rented house or apartment.
Q: In case of fire to the building, who will receive the claim benefit for the loss of the building – the lessor or the lessee?
A: If the building is leased, the lessor will receive the claim benefit.
Q: Can the owner of the house make me responsible for the fire if I am the lessee?
A: Yes, you will be responsible if the court finds you liable for the loss due to your negligence.
Q: If my house is burnt by fire, will you give me a new home?
A: You will be responsible for reconstructing your house and we will pay the cost of the reconstruction. If the house was fully covered, we will reimburse the full cost of the reconstruction of the house, subject to the terms and condition of your plan.
Q: Can I buy the domestic servant coverage separately?
A: No. You need to buy at least the content cover in order to be eligible for the domestic servants’ coverage.
Q: It will cost me a considerable amount of money to protect my house. What if i can’t afford it.
A: You will be surprised at the affordability of the amount to be paid to protect your house. For example, the cost to protect a house with a building coverage amount of SAR1, 000,000 will cost you less than SAR 55 per month. Interestingly, car insurance will cost you about SAR 2,500 per annum to protect your vehicle with a sum insured of only SAR 50,000.
Q: Home insurance is for the wealthy and it is expensive.
A: Home Takaful Plan is developed for everyone to protect his or her home contents and possessions, at an affordable price.
Q: Who is a surveyor and what does he do?
A: A surveyor is an independently licensed person who will conduct the necessary survey for the loss and calculate the loss suffered due to the incident. These surveyors will then give an independent assessment of the amount payable for the loss as per the terms and conditions of the plan.
Q: All incidents that happen are the act of God. So how does the home plan help me as a tenant?
A: Yes, things happen in this world as per the will of God. However, this Shariah-compliant Takaful plan helps you to cover the financial loss that you might incur due to such mishaps.
Q: Nowadays, theft can happen in the house without any forcible entry. Will my plan cover such incident?
A: There is a fair possibility of theft happening without any forcible entry. However, the plan only covers theft with forced entry.
Q: Is my property covered against terrorism?
A: No, it is not covered as it is a standard exclusion worldwide.
Q: What does “Domestic Servant” section cover?
A: The domestic servant coverage includes cover of SAR 30,000 for death and disability, SAR 10,000 for medical expenses and SAR 10,000 for repatriation expenses. The cover applies for incidents due to accidents only.
Q: In the event of an accident to the domestic servant, who will receive the Takaful Benefits?
A: In the event of death, the nominated relative of the domestic servant will receive the benefits, For disability benefits, the domestic helper will receive it himself/herself, If medical/repatriation expenses are incurred, the claims will be paid to the plan holder.
Q: Why does the Board of Directors of SABB Takaful Company need to approve the Takaful surplus if the money belongs to the participants?
A: As the business does include some uncertainty in respect of claims or losses, which is not under the control of SABB Takaful, the Board may decide to distribute only a portion of the surplus in any year and reserve some to be distributed at a later time or in a year when a surplus could not be attained. This way, surplus distributions are more balanced and constant over a period of time. The Takaful surplus is also subject to the Insurance Regulations.
Q: Why does SABB Takaful impose charges? What are these charges for?
A: The charges included are to provide the Takaful benefits, the cost of administering and for managing your plan. In any event, there will be an annual review and any surplus accumulated under the Takaful Fund will be distributed to the participants.
Q: Do I need a medical check-up for any of General Takaful Plans?
A: No. You are not required to go for any medical check-up as these products provide accidental coverage and these plans are not relation to individual health.
Q: Why doesn’t SABB Takaful offer medical and motor insurance?
A: At the moment, SABB Takaful has not applied for the license for medical and motor insurance. There are already a large number of established medical and motor insurance providers within the Kingdom.
SABB Takaful has decided to focus on offering a range of Takaful products covering savings and protection products as well as property, accident and other lines of general insurance. These include products for children education, investment, personal accidents, travel and home and its contents protections to name a few.
However, this situation is under constant review by the management
