Saudi insurance sector faces manpower shortage

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's insurance sector is facing a shortage of skilled manpower, with non-availability of visas for foreign workers forcing companies to lure already employed people by offering higher salaries.

There are 16 licensed companies in the Kingdom and only six are currently operating, said an Arab daily.

"By the end of 2009 there will be 30 insurance companies in the Kingdom and its time that the problems faced by the industry are resolved," said a senior official of Saudi IAIC Cooperative Insurance Company (SALAMA).

"We do not get visas to recruit foreign manpower, therefore, we have to hire them locally from other existing companies on higher salaries," Ali Al-Ghamdi, head of company's sales department, was quoted as saying in Arab News.

Insurance is a lucrative industry but Saudi Arabia lacks enough qualified people to work in insurance companies, the report said.