Various Health Insurance in UAE and what it covers

Health insurance is pretty much mandatory in UAE. If your employer or sponsor did not provide you with suitable medical coverage for you and your dependents, you should look for an appropriate one by yourself.

Wherever you reside, you can always find different types of medical insurance available for you that promise to offer varied benefits and other additional features at similar costs and premiums. That being said, below is a list of different insurance plans commonly insured by the residents of the UAE. So, go through them and select the one that fits your needs.

Types of Health Insurance in UAE

Individual Health Insurance Plan

As the name suggests, individual insurance plans cover the financial, medical needs of the insured or the policyholder only. This medical insurance policy covers the policyholder’s costs against specific health-related issues & illnesses. This health insurance in UAE also offers significant benefits to the insured like pre & post-hospitalization costs, cashless hospitalization, to name a few.

Group Health Insurance Plan

Group health insurance is also termed an employee insurance plan as sponsors or employers usually provide it. Follow this link to learn more about this type of insurance and where you can obtain it. This policy is working so that when you join or leave the company, you will be included and excluded from the policyholder list accordingly. This medical coverage is usually available at a low premium rate as the risks are very low.

Family Health Insurance Plan

Where individual insurance policies are somewhat costly, family insurance plans in UAE are indeed more affordable and have broader policy coverage. If you are looking for single medical insurance to cover all your family members, this plan is the one for you. Although the number of individuals covered under such policy is limited, it is still a great option rather than opting for several separate medical policies.

Critical Illness Health Insurance Plan

A critical illness health insurance plan is supposed to cover only life-threatening diseases and critical health conditions of the policyholder. If you are now suffering from other illnesses not included in the critical illness medical plan, your expenses will not be covered by the policy. Such medical insurance coverage typically provides the policyholder a lump sum payout for the medical treatments and services received. This plan includes those illnesses and health conditions usually not covered by standard healthcare plans.

Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plan

The senior citizen health insurance plans in UAE are offered explicitly to 60 years of age & above citizens. Since this plan is for senior citizens, they usually come at lowered premium rates. While a senior individual requests this medical insurance policy, they are bound to get a medical check-up first before being insured. Even though this policy offers low premium rates, it is relatively at higher costs in comparison to other plans. That is because senior citizens are likely to suffer from more health conditions and illnesses.

Health insurance coverage in UAE

Different health insurance service providers offer varied medical coverage plans to their customers. Even though the insurance plans are identical, what is covered and not covered under the policy may vary. That is why there happens a good possibility that the premium rates will also vary. Now, concerning the health insurance plans available in UAE, the medical insurance providers must follow the health inclusions lists. This list puts out a front to the insurer’s extent of medical coverage.

The standard services that almost every health insurance in UAE covers are below.

• Pre-existing health conditions and diseases
• In-patient hospitalization expenses
• Health check-ups
• Pre and post hospitalization
• Ambulance fees
• Hospital room costs
• Medications
• Daycare procedures
• Newborn and maternity
• Inoculations and vaccinations
• Donor expenses (if there is a situation of organ transplant)

Since there is a coverage inclusions list for the health insurance plans in the UAE, there is also an exclusions list. This list consists of different health treatments and medical services that are usually not covered in the insurance policies in the UAE.

The standard medical services that are not included even in costly insurance plans in UAE are below.

• Dental and optical care
• Medical treatments for obesity
• Non-allopathic treatment
• Post-medical care procedures and diagnostic tests
• Terminal illnesses, AIDS, and other similar diseases
• Direct maternity expenses are excluded unless the insurance plan has a maternity rider included
• Cosmetic surgery, hormone replacement, sex change, etc
• Pre-existing conditions and critical illness are not covered if within a waiting period of 2 to 4 years
• Injuries due to suicide attempts, terrorism, nuclear activity, war, etc

So, what we discussed concerning insurance in the UAE is about the types of health insurance plans and what medical services are included or not in those insurance plans. Depending on the eligibility criteria of the particular insurance plan, you can get insured for one. Now, another issue is whether you are an ex-pat or not. If you are an ordinary UAE citizen, the overall procedure will be more straightforward. But, for an ex-pat, getting medical insurance coverage for yourself and your dependents, if any, is instead a complex procedure. Anyhow, you can get one by adequately researching and by following the required guidelines.