Health cover deadline three days away

SPONSORS WHO FAIL TO INSURE DEPENDANTS BY MARCH 31 WILL BE DENIED VISA SERVICES

Sponsors who fail to buy insurance for dependants by March 31 will be fined and denied visa services |

Dubai residents, businesses and sponsors have three days to get health insurance — or face fines. Ninety-nine per cent or 4.3 million people of the targeted population are already covered. Those who fail to register for at least a basic health insurance package by March 31 will be fined and unable to apply for, or renew residence visas, it was announced yesterday.

According to the Dubai Health Insurance Law that came into effect in January 2014, the legal liability for every sponsor is to provide dependants a basic health insurance cover. Known as Essential Basic Package (EBP), the health cover costs between Dh550 and Dh750.

Fines will be issued to violating individuals and business starting from April 1, Haidar Al Yousuf, the DHA’s director of health funding, said.

“The fine will be imposed on the sponsors and the employers and not the employees,” he added. “It will be added to the visa renewal and cancellation fees of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.”

Dubai residents who fail to secure mandatory health insurance cover will face a fine of Dh500 per month — close to the annual cost of the cheapest insurance package.

Apart from the fine, no new visa will be granted and no existing visas renewed without health insurance.

12 providers

Soon, coverage for visitors must also be provided by December 31, 2017 as per a new resolution. A total of 12 insurance companies provide the Essential Benefits Plan insurance package, ranging between Dh550 to Dh750, so that those with salaries under Dh4,000 receive adequate cover.

Meanwhile, family packages

start from Dh650 and the elderly packages start from Dh2,500 per year.

The 12 companies that provide the essential benefits plan package are:

Noor Takaful Insurance, Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company and Union Insurance, Axa Gulf Insurance, Takaful Emarat, Dar Al Takaful, Orient

Insurance, Ras Al Khaimah Insurance Company, Daman Health Insurance, Oman Insurance Company, Melife, National General Insurance.

The first deadlines for health insurance — for companies with more than 1,000 employees – came into effect on October 31, 2014. Deadlines for smaller companies came on

July 31, 2015 and June 30, 2016.

However, owing to delays and the massive number of applications, the deadline was then extended up to December 2016.

The new deadline issued by the Executive Council Resolution requires that all residents must have health insurance cover by March 31, 2017.