CAIRO: Spend enough time on any Cairo road and you're likely to encounter a familiar scene: Two men (or, less frequently, women) scuffle over a bent fender or nicked rearview mirror, passersby form an impromptu audience and backed-up traffic blares its frustration. After the quarrel hits its crescendo, apparently verging on blows, a stack of bills changes hands, and the matter is considered settled. Amid such scenes, who would be surprised to learn car insurance is not exactly pervasive here? But as with many industries that bank on bringing order to a system still largely defined by chaos, auto insurance has grown a lot here, with services expanding and registration numbers on the rise. "Insurance tends to be a bit of a black hole in Egypt, said Hazem Moussa, general manager of Contact Cars, a firm that provides auto insurance services. "The average retail customer tends to have no idea how to even begin the process. It is hard for many car buyers to figure out how, or why, to wade through the morass of bureaucracy and paperwork that insurance often entails without someone to help them along, Moussa said. Many here end up viewing insurance as a nuisance rather than a necessity, he said. "And a lot of those who look at it positively, look at it as 'how much am I going to pay and how much am I going to ostensibly pay if I get in an accident?' They feel like they're buying a repair. Under these conditions, businesses are often able to profit by helping clients navigate red tape. Contact Cars works alongside insurance companies, helping clients secure policies, file claims, get their cars to service centers and make sure repairs are done on time. The firm also allows customers to pay fees monthly, rather than yearly, as most payments are made here. Many car dealers have started offering similar programs. Ezz Al-Arab, a Giza-based auto firm, offers to sign clients up for insurance, handle their paperwork and attend to other concerns, like ensuring claims are filed and paid. For 2.5 percent of the car's cost, the customer doesn't have to do anything, said Amir Saba, a marketing agent at Ezz Al-Arab. All of this is, of course, optional. Egyptian law still only requires third party liability insurance, relatively tiny compared to the insurance required throughout most of the United States and other countries. But while Saba said he didn't have exact figures, he guessed the number of clients who choose to be insured is big and growing. More Egyptians are choosing to be insured simply because they are more aware it is an option, he said. Many companies have been launching feverish advertising campaigns; billboard, television and radio ads are plentiful. Egypt is notorious for its untamed traffic. Every year car accidents kill about 7,500 and injure about 35,000 Egyptians, according to state statistics published in Al-Ahram Weekly in 2006. Losses caused by traffic accidents are estimated to stretch to LE 2 billion per year. And while insurance is gaining some traction, a good lot of these accidents are still settled on the street. "A lot of people just don't have insurance coverage, said Moussa. "And even if they do, there's still not anywhere near enough enforcement by insurance companies.
