16.5 billion dirhams bill for the “health insured” in 9 months

Data from the latest report issued by the Central Bank showed that the total cost of the treatment bill for health insured people in the UAE, paid by insurance companies in the form of claims from medical service providers, reached 16.5 billion dirhams during the first nine months of last year 2024, compared to 14.4 billion dirhams. One billion dirhams at the end of the same period in 2023, an increase of 2.1 billion dirhams, equivalent to an increase of 14.6%, which is the highest growth rate in this period. Item about six years ago.

In contrast, the total written premiums in the health insurance sector increased during the monitoring period to 24.4 billion dirhams, compared to 20.1 billion dirhams during the first nine months of 2023, an increase of 4.3 billion dirhams, and a growth of 21.4%.

According to the report, health insurance coverage is mandatory in several emirates, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where laws require that all residents obtain health insurance.

Companies are usually responsible for providing health insurance coverage for their employees, while relatives and domestic workers must often be covered by the company, or through special arrangements.

The report indicated that insurance companies usually do not achieve significant gains from the “health insurance” and “car insurance” branches, due to the high claims paid by insurance companies, but that most insurance companies have, several years ago, increased the percentage of the patient’s contribution to the treatment bill. Or what is known as the “tolerance percentage,” ranging between 20 and 30%.

He explained that the increase in paid claims is due to the increase in the number of health insured people, which appears in the increase in the number of policies, but for the first time in six years as well, the difference between the premiums written in the health insurance branch and the claims paid during the same period exceeded by 7.9 billion dirhams. .

Annually, the health insurance branch records steady growth, as the state, represented by its governmental institutions, supervisory and regulatory bodies, and professional unions, in addition to insurance companies, has taken it upon itself to work on developing health insurance programs in the most successful and best ways, in order to modernize the health care system and health insurance for citizens and residents of the country. Emirates, both.

The head of the Health Insurance Committee at the Emirates Insurance Federation, Abdul Mohsen Jaber, told Emirates Today that “the increase in premiums and claims in the health insurance branch is due to a number of factors and reasons, including that health insurance has become a necessity and a mandatory requirement for renewing residency in the Northern Emirates, just like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, so demand increased by residents of these emirates, and thus premiums and claims increased together.”

Jaber added: “The increase in the population in the Emirates, supported by economic and social stability, in light of the great fluctuation in the geopolitical situation in the region, has made the country a preferred destination for living and working, and this is also one of the reasons for the increase, in addition to the fact that there is an increase in the cost of operating hospitals, and thus an increase Claims, where there are modern medical devices and advanced technology at high prices, led to medical service providers raising the price, which was reflected in the form of an increase in the prices of documents and an increase in the value of claims.”

Jaber continued: “After (Covid-19) we notice an increase in medical awareness and people’s concern for their health. Awareness programs and demand for periodic examinations have also increased, in addition to the increase in medical prescriptions. All of these are undoubtedly factors that raise the value of claims and push companies to increase the value of premiums.” Subscribed in exchange for providing insurance coverage.

He also pointed out that a large number of those insured who have been working for years, whether in the government or private sector, have increased their ages, which in turn increases the value of the premium compared to those whose ages are younger.

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Written premiums

Written premiums are determined by insurance companies as contributions to employers, in exchange for providing insurance coverage to employees.