Things to Consider Before Buying Health Insurance in the UAE

1. Things to Consider Before Buying Health Insurance in the UAE

2. Health insurance in UAE Health insurance is a mandatory criteria for all Dubai residents and nationals made by Dubai Health Authority. All UAE nationals are insured under Government insurance programs like Sa’ada and Enaya while expatriates who are having a valid Dubai residency can avail medical insurance services from any of the 46 registered insurance companies in Dubai. In the case of expatriates, it is the duty of the sponsor to offer you the mandatory health insurance if you are sponsored under him. Health insurance plans in UAE come in various formats, shapes and sizes which are classified to basic, premium, local and international plans with deductible or non deductible and so on.

3. Things to Consider Before Buying Health Insurance in the UAE • What type of geographical coverage you require? • What policy suits my budget for maximum coverage available? • Which all hospitals and clinics are covered? • Is there a co-insurance clause? • What are the maternity benefits? • Exclusions • Is there a discount available?

4. What type of geographical coverage you require? • Make a strong idea of what form of coverage you want on the basis of geographical region. This you can do by evaluating how often you travel abroad and whether you are out for a longer period or not. • Do keep in your mind that some local plan may cover your emirate,while others may provide UAE wide coverage. • Regional plans available in UAE cover GCC countries or the whole Mena region. • International health insurance plans provided by insurance companies in the UAE may or may not cover the US and Canada within their mentioned world wide coverage.

5. What policy suits my budget for maximum coverage available? • Health insurance plans in UAE are subject to an aggregate coverage limit, which is the utmost financial coverage provided within the plan on an annual basis. • Apparently, a policy that gets a higher limit of coverage annually will always be more expensive than the one which gets a lower coverage annually. • In addition If you are opting for a plan that has co-insurance, this aggregate limit will possibly added too.

6. Which all hospitals and clinics are covered? • A policyholder can seek medical attention at any time, so it is preferable to choose an insurance policy which covers at least some of the major hospitals near your premises. • Always check that treatment within a network hospital is generally cashless (direct billing) while treatment outside the network is on a reimbursement basis. • Sometimes, you may require access to a specialty hospital or medical facility for an ongoing ailment, so it is important to check if such hospitals are covered under the plan or not.

7. Is there a co-insurance clause? A co-insurance is a may or may not norms in case of a health insurance. It is the share of medical expenses that you have to settle out of your pocket. Normally it is expressed as a percentage value, and higher the co-insurance, lower will be your insurance premium.

8. What are the maternity benefits? • In case of a family planning, maternity benefits section of the health insurance policy is a matter of concern. While doing the comparison between different medical insurance policies, you must carefully go through what’s included under both out-patient and in-patient medical services. • Mostly outpatient services cover prenatal checkups, ultrasound scans, lab tests and so on, and in-patient services cover the actual delivery of the baby as well as any emergency medical procedures. • Also check with the maximum coverage limit if you have a normal delivery or C-section. Have a Comparison of this with the actual cost involved in both the procedures at your chosen hospital.

9. Exclusions Make sure that something of your interest is not excluded. Going through the exclusions you will be able to select the better plan by ensuring your future claims are not at risk of being rejected.

10. Is there a discount available? Before choosing a health insurance online or normal that meets all your requirements, check to see if the insurer can offer you a discount on the premium. Some insurance companies in UAE may offer you a no-claims discount if you renew without having made even a single claim in the previous year. You are also provided with a discount if you buy health insurance for your whole family together.

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