Latest news with #insurancecompanies
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
Oman's 'Dhamani' platform revolutionises health insurance with record activity in 2025
Muscat: The National Health Insurance Platform 'Dhamani' has released its operational report for the first half of 2025, revealing a surge in activity that underscores its growing role in streamlining health insurance services across the Sultanate of Oman. According to the latest figures, the platform processed more than 4.2 million transactions, averaging 40,000 transactions daily. Of these: 2.3 million were eligibility verifications for insured individuals. 1.4 million dealt with medical approvals. 700,000 were claims submitted by hospitals. In a significant milestone, OMR 3.5 million were electronically transferred from insurance companies to hospitals, emphasizing Dhamani's focus on efficiency and transparency in financial settlements. The platform's integrated network now includes: ▪ 33 hospitals ▪ 37 health complexes ▪ 33 specialised health centres ▪ 20 clinics
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
National Health Insurance platform 'Dhamani' reports strong activity
Muscat: The National Health Insurance Platform 'Dhamani' has released its operational report for the first half of 2025, revealing a surge in activity that underscores its growing role in streamlining health insurance services across the Sultanate of Oman. According to the latest figures, the platform processed more than 4.2 million transactions, averaging 40,000 transactions daily. Of these: 2.3 million were eligibility verifications for insured individuals. 1.4 million dealt with medical approvals. 700,000 were claims submitted by hospitals. In a significant milestone, OMR 3.5 million were electronically transferred from insurance companies to hospitals, emphasizing Dhamani's focus on efficiency and transparency in financial settlements. The platform's integrated network now includes: 33 hospitals 37 health complexes 33 specialized health centers 20 clinics These developments highlight Dhamani's expanding footprint and its strategic contribution to raising service standards, reducing administrative delays, and ensuring seamless communication between healthcare providers and insurers.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Taiwan man soaks feet in dry ice for 10 hours to con insurance firms, causing amputation
A man in Taiwan shocked the internet after attempting to defraud five insurance companies by immersing his feet in a bucket of dry ice for 10 hours, resulting in the amputation of both feet. The man, surnamed Zhang, was an undergraduate student in Taipei at the time. Between 2005 and January 2023, he purchased multiple insurance policies from five different companies, covering eight types of insurance, including health, life, accident, long-term care, and travel insurance. In 2023, in an attempt to claim insurance payouts, Zhang conspired with his former secondary school classmate, surnamed Liao. On January 26, 2023, the two bought dry ice in New Taipei City and returned to Liao's residence in Taipei's Zhongshan District. There, Zhang placed his bare feet into a bucket filled with dry ice, while Liao secured him to a chair with plastic straps to prevent him from pulling away if the process became too unbearable. Zhang purchased multiple insurance policies from five different companies, covering eight types of insurance, including health, life, accident, long-term care, and travel. Photo: Yahoo Zhang kept his feet in the dry ice from 2am until around noon – a total of 10 hours.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Ten Reasons Why Car Insurance Premiums Are Getting So Expensive
Carr insurance rates are expected to rise by an estimated average 7.5% this year. With summer having officially arrived, many Americans will be loading up their cars, SUVs and minivans and hitting the road to any number of far-flung vacation destinations. Many, if not most, will also likely be stunned as to how much their auto insurance premiums have jumped. Industry estimates suggest the average motorist will see his or her rates rise by an average 7.5% this year. And that's on top of a 20% average increase reported over the past five years. Some drivers automatically shoulder higher insurance costs depending on their personal circumstances and can likely expect to see their premium costs surge higher than the norm. Teenage drivers – especially young men – tend to pay the most for coverage, with older motorists being charged less, and singles paying more than married persons. Those living in crowded urban areas with higher rates of car thefts, collisions and vandalism face higher premiums than those residing in less-populated suburban and rural locations. Coverage can be inherently higher or lower depending on the state in which a policyholder resides due to regulations and court decisions that favor either insurance companies or consumers. And drivers having one or more at-risk accidents or moving violations on their records will pay higher rates, with tickets for reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs driving up premiums the most. What's more, few may realize that insurers in many states also base car insurance costs on a policyholder's credit history. According to the website drivers having poor credit could be charged as much as 60% more than those having higher FICO scores, regardless of their driving records or other factors. So why are car insurance rates continuing their steep upward trend? Here are nine reasons, culled from multiple sources: 1. Costlier Repairs Vehicles have become increasingly expensive to fix once they get into a wreck because of the rising cost and added complexity of replacement parts. Today's cars are rolling beds of technology, fitted with an array of sensors and advanced systems that can cost a small fortune to replace. This leads to more vehicles being deemed total losses in what in years past may have been repairable collisions. Electric cars are especially prone to being totaled in a wreck if their expensive battery packs are damaged. 2. Longer Repair Periods In addition, vehicles are taking longer to repair because of the added complexity, which drives up claim costs. According to JD Power, the average repair time is 22 days, which is a full 10 days longer than it was in the pre-pandemic era. Insurers are also stuck with added rental car charges, if so covered, the longer a covered vehicle is in the shop. 3. Higher Vehicle Prices Both new- and used-vehicle prices have taken a steep upward turn in recent years due to supply and demand issues, consumer preferences for expensive trucks and SUVs and higher desired levels of equipment across all segments. The average new vehicle's transaction price is now a whopping $48,799, with used models at $27,895, according to Cox Automotive and respectively. That means higher payouts for crashed cars that are deemed a total loss. By comparison these averages were around $38,000 new and $20,000 used in 2020. 4. Tariffs Both new vehicles and repair parts are set to become more expensive due to the recent spate of import tariffs, especially with regard to the large percentage of parts coming from China and steel from countries that include Canada, Mexico and Brazil. The website estimates the cost of repairs has already risen by 13% because of tariffs. And now new-car prices are set to rise even higher because of the latest wave of import tariffs. Sources predict price increases as high as $5,000 to $10,000 on imported vehicles and $2,000-$3,000 on those assembled in the U.S.. The added cost will almost certainly send more buyers to the pre-owned side of the lot, with shoppers facing rising prices there because of the added demand and diminished supply from fewer trade-ins. 5. Climactic Conditions Whether one believes in climate change or not, there's no denying that the sheer number of catastrophic events, including hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and wildfires, have become more prevalent – and serious – in recent years. For example, in 2024 Hurricane Helene alone left 138,000 vehicles flood-damaged across six states, according to data compiled by Carfax. 6. Rising Medical Costs According to Lexis/Nexis, auto insurance bodily injury claims jumped 9.2% over the past year, due to the heightened severity of crashes and soaring healthcare expenses. 7. Lawsuits According to Swiss Re, a surging number of legal cases and sky-high litigation costs – blamed in at least some part to the proliferation of personal-injury lawyers' ads on TV and other sources – have driven car insurance liability claims in the U.S. up by 57% over the last decade. 8. Broader Coverage Insurance companies have in recent years been offering expanded features like full replacement cost for late-model cars, expanded climate-related comprehensive coverage, roadside assistance plans and rental-car provisions. These add-ons can be invaluable if needed, but they do tend to jack up one's premiums. 9. Theft Rates While the National Insurance Crime Bureau reports that car thefts have finally settled back to pre-pandemic levels after a few years on the upswing, that still means 850,708 vehicles were stolen nationwide last year. Catalytic converter thefts continue to plague motorists for the value of the precious metals that make the pollution control devices work. Easily cut from the bottom of a vehicle, the NICB says replacement can cost between $1,000 and $3,500 or more, depending on the make and model. 10. Legislative Changes Individual states regulate the insurance business differently from one to another, with some legislation tending to favor insurers, while others protecting the insured. This year, policyholders in California, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia are seeing higher state-mandated minimums for liability coverage which, in turn, means incrementally higher coverage costs. Fortunately there are several ways consumers can help keep climbing car insurance rates in check. Start by comparing prices among multiple carriers every year or so to see if a better deal is available, given one's personal information. This is especially important among those who've recently taken life-changing turns like changing addresses or marital status, or racking up one or more traffic tickets or crashes. Some carriers are more willing to accept what it perceives as certain levels of risk on a more-or-less costly basis than others. Cash-strapped owners can also save some cash by lowering a policy's liability coverage to state minimums, raising deductibles for comprehensive and collision-damage and dropping add-ons like towing and rental car provisions. Finally, make sure to obtain every discount a given carrier is offering. These include rate reductions for teens and seniors who've taken approved safe-driving courses, those who bundle coverage for multiple vehicles and/or homeowner's insurance with the same company, pay a year's premiums annually and so on. Though it may seem intrusive and can prove to be a crapshoot in the long run, many companies now offer nominally lower rates for non-aggressive drivers, based on telematics data collected from a vehicle's onboard diagnostics port.
Zawya
19-06-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Oman: FSA prepares for second phase of Dhamani platform
Muscat: In preparation for launching the second phase of the National Health Insurance Platform 'Dhamani' scheme, the Financial Services Authority organized a preparatory meeting with insurance companies and representatives of private healthcare institutions to arrange for implementing the second phase of the 'Dhamani' electronic platform. The second phase includes readying the 'Dhamani' electronic platform to exchange medical documents such as x-rays, prescriptions and medical referrals between private healthcare institutions and insurance companies on the one hand and between all hospitals, complexes, clinics and specialized health centers on the other hand. The two-day meeting was organized within the framework of the community participation adopted by the FSA while developing regulatory schemes. The meeting reviewed the nature of the components of the phase with the relevant parties to find out mechanisms for dealing with them, in addition to discussing the key challenges expected in the implementation and how to address them. This phase is considered important within the framework of launching the 'Dhamani' electronic platform as it progresses the platform towards broader services such as building a unified medical record for the insured that allow access to all the details of visits to any health institution linked to the platform. The national health insurance platform 'Dhamani' also adds value in organizing health insurance transactions in the Sultanate of Oman by linking operational and financial transactions between insurance companies, private healthcare institutions; health insurance claims administrators and regulators including government entities supervising the insurance market and private healthcare institutions. It is worth noting that the platform proved its efficiency and digital effectiveness during the operational period, as the number of health insurance transactions concluded through the platform reached more than 4 million transactions until the end of May 2025. All insurance institutions were linked to this platform in addition to the connection of all private hospitals licensed by the Ministry of Health, which are 33 hospitals. While the number of health complexes linked to the platform has reached 37 private health complexes so far, 20 clinics and 44 health centers. The platform also provides its services to more than 650,000 health insurance policyholders with a data and information exchange rate of up to 40,000 transactions per day. 2022 © All right reserved for Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
