Muscat – Insurance companies in Oman paid RO25mn in claims for traffic accidents in 2022, according to the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

Despite a rise in the number of motor insurance claims last year, the total amount paid in claims by insurers decreased 12.6 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021 when insurers paid RO28.6mn.

The total number of traffic accidents increased 15.5 per cent to 76,200 in 2022 compared to the previous year. These include 60,900 minor accidents and 15,300 major accidents during the year, CMA data shows.

The number of insurance claims for minor accidents rose to 64,300, while the total compensation for minor accidents decreased to RO12mn in 2022.

The total amount paid in claims for accidents with damages decreased to RO8.5mn; the amount paid in claims for bodily injuries and medical treatment also decreased to RO4mn.

Insurance companies paid 327 death claims due to major accidents involving a total compensation amount of RO456,000 in 2022.

Falling road accidents

According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information, traffic safety in the five years from 2017 to 2021 improved considerably, highlighting a reduction in road accidents.

Statistics reveal the number of accidents in Oman decreased 60 per cent in five years – from 3,845 in 2017 to 1,539 in 2021.

In 2017, there was an accident every three hours, which reduced to one every six hours at the end of 2021. Data shows 640 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2017, 637 in 2018, 511 in 2019 and 371 in 2020.

The data for 2021 indicates collisions between vehicles constituted the most common type – 41.1 per cent – of traffic accidents, while speed was the biggest cause of accidents, with 820 caused by speeding vehicles, constituting 53.3 per cent of the total traffic accidents.

According to Brig Mohammed bin Awad al Rawas, Director General of Traffic at Royal Oman Police, the sultanate is witnessing a great deal of developments in the road network.