Insurance benefits for new expats only after 6 months

People entering the UAE for the first time for employment or residency purposes and who do not possess a health card can benefit from the insurance scheme only after six months of subscribing to an insurance policy, as per the Health Insurance Law No.23 of 2005, said Dr Michael Bitzer, Chief Executive Officer of Daman, the national health insurance company.

The law is applicable to dependents of expatriates who do not possess valid health card and employees with an income of Dh3,000 with accommodation or Dh4,000 without housing. These two categories are allowed to get a Dh600 premium dubbed as the ‘Basic ‘product which covers healthcare services within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi with an annual upper limit of Dh250,000. On January 1, 2007 the first phase of a health insurance project was enforced for all expatriates residing and working in the capital, under a presidential decree with the aim of alleviating the suffering of expats reeling under exorbitant health expenses.

Phase II of the project was implemented in July 2007 and included firms with more than 100 employees.

In an interview with Khaleej Times yesterday, Dr Bitzer clarified that in this case the authorised health insurance company may exclude cover for healthcare services for high-cost medical conditions, including diabetes mellitus, arterial diseases, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), all cancer cases, neurosurgery, cerebro-vascular diseases and all delivery cases (maternity).

About Daman cards issued until now and numbers anticipated for 2008, Dr Bitzer said, “Individuals enrolled for Daman insurance plans are now 930,000 with over 25,000 being UAE nationals. According to our recent estimations, over 690,000 of all insured individuals in the emirate of Abu Dhabi are covered with the government-subsidised insurance policy.”
“According to the latest study, the UAE’s insurance sector is growing at around 20 per cent per annum after the recent changes in the healthcare sector in the country. We are expecting our business to grow in the local market.”

On whether Daman is to introduce its insurance system in all the emirates, he said, “Being a key player in this sector we intend to provide health insurance solutions to customers all around the UAE and expand our geographical presence to serve customers nationwide. Establishing our office in Dubai recently was the first step in Daman’s comprehensive expansion strategy.”
Answering a question on whether insured persons can benefit from the Daman card in other emirates, Dr Bitzer said Daman offers five insurance plans for customers that vary according to geographical coverage.
“The Abu Dhabi plan is eligible for expatriates with monthly salaries below Dh4,000, ” said Dr Bitzer. Source