A visitor health insurance system for those wishing to obtain medical insurance during their visit to Saudi Arabia has been approved by the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance, according to a report.

It will cover treatment cost of up to SR100,000 ($26,654), said the Arab News report.

The medical expenses covered will include medical examination, diagnosis, treatment, medications, hospital expenses, pregnancy and childbirth, emergency dental cases, premature infant cases, emergency dialysis and medical evacuation cases, it said.

It will also cover injuries caused by traffic accidents, and the costs of handling or processing the bodies of the deceased.

Its exemptions include non-urgent medical tests which can be postponed until the insured visitor returns home, as well as diseases that arise from the abuse of medicines and plastic surgery, venereal diseases, eyeglasses, hearing aids or electroacoustic devices and implants of organs.

The insured person is not entitled to cancel his or her pre-organised insurance document after entering the kingdom, but can do so in cases of non-entry. In such circumstances, the value of the payment will be returned to the beneficiary.

Additionally, the insured person shall not use the document to cover the expenses of any treatment for a condition known to him prior to his planned visit to the Kingdom.

Khaldoun Barakat, head of the insurance committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the mechanisms to implement the project are still being studied by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) and insurance companies, in addition to the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance.

The number of beneficiaries may reach 8 million foreigners who enter the Kingdom with Umrah and Haj visas, he added.