Zurich says to exit UAE general insurance business by end-2016

Zurich Insurance Group will exit its general insurance business in the United Arab Emirates by the end of 2016, after a review concluded the investment needed in the market was not justified by its limited growth potential.

Zurich, which will continue to offer life insurance in the UAE, has been reviewing its global general insurance business, its biggest source of revenue and which sells things like property and casualty insurance, under the unit's new boss Kristof Terryn.

Companies not complying with Dubai’s mandatory health insurance face hefty fines

DUBAI // Businesses failing to comply with the Dubai Health Authority’s mandatory health-insurance plan face hefty fines, and new visas will not be granted for employees until they fall in line.

Phase two of the plan, which includes about 3,000 companies with between 100 and 999 employees, began on August 1, ensuring that another 600,000 people now have health insurance.

It has also emerged that the national health insurance company, Daman, will soon expand its services in the Northern Emirates, beyond its existing 450 providers in the area.

The improved cover will benefit employees in Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain.

A recently opened Daman branch in Sharjah has been performing well and has encouraged the call for more regional branches.

Daman’s chief executive for business operations, Dr Sven Rohte, said a broad portfolio of insurance programmes meant the insurer was well positioned to cope with the expansion.

Compulsory health-insurance schemes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have also meant more business for insurers, and hope among residents in other emirates that this will be replicated across the country.

Phase three of the insurance mandate in Dubai will cover dependants of employees, with a June 31, 2016 deadline for compliance, after which there will be 100 per cent coverage in the emirate.

In addition to dependants of expatriates, this phase will include employees of smaller companies and domestic workers.

Dr Haidar Al Yousuf, the director of health funding at the DHA, said businesses yet to comply with phase two of the scheme would be penalised.

“Strict enforcement is now taking place in partnership with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs,” he said.

“Certificates of health insurance now need to be submitted to them as part of the visa process.

“For companies that fall under phase one and two of the insurance law, no new visa can be submitted without insurance any more.”

Although not yet mandatory for companies to extend insurance to spouses, dependants and domestic workers, basic packages ranging from Dh625 to Dh800 have been arranged by the DHA.

The mandatory roll-out began in Dubai in February last year, when just a million of the city’s estimated population of 2.3 million had insurance.

Dr Al Yousuf said a small number of companies in Dubai were yet to sign up to the scheme and would be contacted and hit with a penalty notice.

“The penalties will be greater than the cost of the insurance, so it will make sense for them to comply with the regulations.

“They have already passed the deadline, so the longer they spend without insurance, the greater the penalties will become.

“If they are still not responding, we will refer them to the licensing entities to withhold their licence.”

Bre Hill, a regional human resources manager at MediaCom, which employs about 120 people in the Mena region, said: “Access to quality health care is a fundamental right and we have ensured this is something that is part of our core benefits for all staff. We support our employees by offering an inclusive policy for all, with direct billing at major health providers in the UAE.”

Exact details of the fines to be imposed have not yet been announced, but they will rise every month that businesses operate without insurance.

No Dubai visas without medical insurance: Dubai Health Authority

The mandatory insurance scheme linking application for a visa in Dubai to medical insurance is now in place, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has confirmed.

Residents applying for a new visa or visa renewal must be able to demonstrate that they are covered by medical insurance, unless they are part of the last phase of the rollout of the scheme, which looks at a deadline of June 2016.

Employees of companies contracting more than 100 employees must comply with the new rules, which are in place since the beginning of this month.

Medical certificate

When applying for a new visa or visa renewal, a medical certificate must be presented.

The medical certificate is a document provided by the insurance company stating that a person is covered by medical insurance, explained Haidar Al Yousuf, Director of Health Funding, DHA.

"All insurance companies should be able to provide this document free of charge.

"When visiting the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), this document must be presented along with other documents required for a visa or visa renewal.

"When applying online, there is an option to upload the document when submitting the application," he continued to explain.

According to the director, there was a minor change made to the system after the new rules were in place.

"Whereas the system first asked for the document with an upload option reading 'other documents', it now reads 'scan of the health certificate'."

However, al Yousuf assured that as employees are sponsored by their respective companies, the application procedure will be carried out by the company.

On the same note, the company is responsible for the provision of medical insurance, and if this is not provided on time, any potential fine for overstaying would come to the company, he explained.

Visitors to Dubai

Visitors to the emirate will also be required to have a medical insurance coverage upon entering Dubai, however, details of this part of the scheme are yet to be announced.

"There will be a comprehensive system in place and the details of this system will be announced at a later stage."

Currently, visitors applying for a visa through the GDRFA are already required to purchase medical insurance upon purchasing a visa.

However, this rule does not apply to everybody, as some individuals are sponsored by organisations or do not require at all.

"There are other groups that are currently not covered by this rule, but they will be under the new system," said al Yousuf.

The official date for the linking of the visa to medical insurance was August 1, 2015. However, the GDRFA and the typing centres employees in the emirate were not aware of the new rule when asked by Emirates 24|7 on August 3.

"The online application procedure had to be fine-tuned, but once that was done the system was in place. It is now fully implemented," said Al Yousuf.

Currently phase 1 and phase 2 of the mandatory scheme have been completed, covering companies’ with more than 1,000 employees on their sponsorship and companies with 100 to 999 employees.

Companies with less than 100 employees, and spouses, dependents and domestic workers are part of phase 3 of the rollout.

"We are still counting but it looks like the population that is covered by medical insurance now stands at 2.7 million. We expect that 3,000 companies, consisting of a total of 600,000 employees have complied with the rules."

Licences of 12 UAE insurance brokers cancelled

The UAE Insurance Authority has cancelled licences of 12 brokers and written off registration of number of insurance brokers, the regulatory body said.

“The Insurance Authority (IA) of the UAE announces that it has decided to cancel licences and write off registration of the companies from the register of insurance brokers in the IA in accordance with the provisions of Clause (2) of Article (22) of the Decision of the IA Board of Directors No. (15) of 2013 concerning the Insurance Brokerage Regulations and its Amendments,” according to a media advertisement published by the regulatory body in local newspaper.

Authority has listed below the 12 cancelled insurance brokers:

-    Al-Hilal Insurance Brokers
-    IphIppIos of Insurance Brokers
-    Julfar Insurance Brokers
-    Company General of the International Insurance Brokers
-    Foundation Liwa Insurance Brokers
-    Horizon Enznettl Anshoranz Brokers
-    Al Rudood Insurance Services
-    Expat Services GMBH
-    Marsh Insurance Brokers
-    Future Insurance Brokers
-    Ruwais Insurance Brokers
-    Arab Commercial Enterprises Co. (Saudia)