Top 10 Health Insurance Companies in UAE

But before you dive into a deeper analysis of health insurance companies in the UAE, it is essential to circle out the top choices. To make your task a bit easier, here’s a list of the top 10 health insurance companies in Dubai, UAE with a brief introduction to the kind of health insurance plans each one of them offers:

Top 10 Medical Insurance Companies in UAE
1	Orient Insurance
2	Alliance Insurance
3	DNIRC
4	Sehteq
5	Watania
6	Noor Takaful
7	Takaful Emarat
8	Union Insurance
9	Al Sagr Health Insurance
10	Daman Health Insurance

List of Health Insurance Companies in Dubai

1. Orient Insurance

Orient Insurance is a part of the Al-Futtaim Group and was started in 1982. It has been on a path of steady growth and rise since its inception and is known to be one of the top health insurers in the country. Orient Insurance PJSC offers a number of health insurance with each one catering to a particular set of requirements and groups. The company secured the highest net profit consecutively for two years in 2010 and 2011 in UAE along with the ‘An Excellent’ rating from AM Best, the highest offered ranking in the book. Along with having a distinctive set customer base in all the seven emirates, Orient Insurance has also made its presence known in countries like Sri Lanka, Egypt, Turkey, Muscat, Oman, and Bahrain.

Pros:

• Wide variety of plans
• Comprehensive critical illness cover
• Specialized cover for Northern Emirates’ visa holders – NEMed

Cons:

• No dental cover
• No coverage for treatment received outside of network hospital list

2. Alliance Insurance

Alliance insurance is a UAE-based medical insurance company in Dubai that has been in the business for over 40 years now. The best thing about health insurance plans offered by Alliance Insurance is that they are extremely detailed and segregated on many levels to suit the needs of each user. Alliance was established in 1975 and its headquarters are located in the Emirate of Dubai although, you can find the branch offices anywhere in the seven emirates. The health insurance plans offered by Alliance Insurance not only come with several options to choose from but also offer a diverse range of coverage amount to suit all budgets. This one of the best affordable health insurance companies in UAE.  

Pros:

• Individual, SME, Family, Corporates as well as Retiree Health Insurance Plans
• Pre-existing and chronic illness cover in all individual and family health insurance plans
• User-friendly online insurance buying portal and 24x7 claim center

Cons:

• Does not include hearing and vision treatment covers
• Does not have tailored plans for people with smoking and nicotine addiction.

3. DNIRC

As far as health insurers with a conservative approach to the insurance business are concerned, DNIRC takes the top place. With an experience of about 30 years, DNIRC has been a customer-favorite since the day it started. It is not only backed by a number of big players of UAE, like SCOR, Munich Re, and Swiss Re but also has a large number of public shareholders. DNIRC was the very first company that was registered with the Dubai Financial Market. This medical insurance company in Dubai offers a number of individuals, family, and corporate health insurance plans and is supported by a huge network of hospitals and other medical facilities. DNIRC boasts five different networks of medical facilities, each one with further bifurcated networks within, applicable to different kinds of healthcare plans.

Pros:

• Thousands of network hospitals for cashless medical treatment in UAE
• Customizable plans in each category.
• Higher amount of coverage for worldwide as well as regional plans.

Cons:

• Most DNIRC plans do not cover the USA and Canada in worldwide coverage. You have to buy a different, more expensive plan to get these two countries covered.
• No cover for elective and emergency treatments in basic health insurance plans.

4. Sehteq

Sehteq is one of those health insurance companies in UAE that came into existence later than their competitors but made a huge name for them. Sehteq was established in 2017, supported by Ras Al Khaimah Insurance and has quickly become the biggest insurance company in the country. The profit margin earned by Sehteq recently was double of what it made last year which says more than enough about its speedy race to the top of the list. Sehteq offer completely digitized insurance solutions to its customers and operates 5 of the biggest legacy medical insurance companies in Dubai the country. It offers over 15 high-risk insurance plans to its customers along with reinsurance services. Sehteq is also a network provider partner with many top insurance companies in Dubai including DNIRC offering several networks for in-patient treatment.

Pros:

• Better coverage and facilities for high-risk customers.
• Instant cashless claim approvals through digital insurance claim approval services.
• A relatively larger network of partner hospitals, clinics and pharmacies for network treatment.
• Artificial Intelligence-powered insurance buying portal for smartphones in partnership with Noor Takaful.
• Automatic reimbursement claim settlement and approvals with AI portals.

Cons:

• Lack of human touch to the services since almost all the stages involved in having health insurance are driven by Artificial Intelligence.

5. Watania

Watania or National Takaful Company (PJSC) was established in the year 2011 and is known as one of the most popular sharia-compliant takaful medical insurance company in Dubai and the UAE. Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, Al Dar Properties and Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company came together to lay the foundation of this company. Watania offers over 10 different types of medical insurance plans to the customers and has partnered with NAS, Next Care and MED Net as its network providers. Watania saw an increase of about 40% in their net profit for the year 2020 as compared to the profit of the year 2019 ensuring that it is becoming a rather strong contender for the list of top takaful insurance providers in the country. As evident, Watania only offers sharia-compliant takaful which is in complete harmony with the insurance rules laid out by an independent surveillance body.

Pros:

• A comprehensive list of options for customers with every kind of budget.
• Alternative Medicine Cover.
• Worldwide coverage in all plans offered by the company.
• Many plans cover emergency mental health treatments that are still an exclusion in most cases.

Cons:

• Plans are segregated as per regions and emirates apart from being segregated based on benefits.
• Since the company is Sharia-law compliant, it does not follow conventional, internationally accepted insurance laws and standards.

6. Noor Takaful

Also referred to as the second-largest takaful medical insurance company in Dubai and UAE, Noor Takaful has a very established customer base in the country. Offering a number of sharia-compliant insurance plans, Noor Takaful has grown into a multi-million empire in a very short time since it was founded. Noor Takaful registered as a takaful insurance company in 2009. It was the very first company of the lot to abide by Federal Law 6 drawn out in 2007. Noor Takaful takes pride in its ethical approach towards insurance scope and has won several awards and accolades since its inception. There 5 different plans offered by this health insurer for individuals, dependent and house help insurance, and two separate plans for employees and their dependents for corporates and SMEs.

Pros:

• All insurance plans offered are in complete accordance with the Sharia laws of insurance.
• Comprehensive benefits of the plans inclusive of home country treatment options
• Over 1600 network hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities.

Cons:

• Customer care is not available for phone-based assistance on Fridays
• Relatively higher deductible for prescription drugs.

7. Takaful Emarat

Takaful Emarat Insurance PSC was founded in the year 2008 and is another one of the leading takaful providers in the UAE. Takaful Emarat exclusively offers life and health insurance plans only which in compliance with the Sharia law of takaful. The risk is shared by all the participants of takaful and everyone is liable to receive help as and when they require it. There is an independent sharia committee at Takaful Emarat that oversees the operation of this health insurer and regulates the takaful plans.

Pros:

• Single level plans for all dependents, house help and other people employed at home like a driver, etc.
• You can also include parent's independent insurance plans up to the age of 65.
• Inclusive of dental and optical benefits in personal plans
• All personal health takaful plans have worldwide coverage.

Cons:

• Excludes dental prostheses and orthodontic treatments
• Additional co-payment for Dubai-centric plans.

8. Union Insurance

Union Insurance is a UAE-based insurance company that was established in the year 1998. IT is known among customers for offering insurance products ranging across all domains of the insurance market. Union Insurance has several health insurance plans which are segregated on the basis of benefits as well as regions. Union Insurance Company is supported by several global organizations like Swiss Reinsurance Company, SCOR Reinsurance, QBA Europe, Lloyds. Hannover Reinsurance and Generali. The health insurer started with a paid-up capital of AED 330 million and has grown significantly ever since its inception.

Pros:

• Multiple options among health insurance plans in terms of benefits offered and services covered.
• Available option of online purchase all health insurance plans like the Sanad Plan and the Essential Benefits Plan.
• 24x7 customer support.
• 3400+ network providers.

Cons:

• Plans divided as per regions of availability which means a few plans may not be available in other emirates.

9. Al Sagr Health Insurance

Founded in the year 1979, Al Sagr is one of the oldest health insurance companies in the UAE. This health insurer is registered with UAE’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce and operates under the Federal Insurance Law 9 laid down in 1984. The company is known among customer for its wide selection of insurance plans and the wide scope of services they offer in every insurance field. Al Sagr is a public shareholding company that started with an investment of AED 10 million. Now the company has built up a paid-up capital of AED 230 million in its 4 decades of service.

Pros:

• Worldwide coverage in all health insurance plans.
• 20+ variants for individual and personal health insurance and 15+ variants for group health insurance.
• Claimed delivery and start of the cover within 3 days of purchase.

Cons:

• No active customer service interaction on Fridays.
• Relatively harder to navigate online websites.

10. Daman Health Insurance

A rather new addition to the group of locally founded health insurers of UAE, Daman Insurance or the National Health Insurance Company was founded in 2005. It is a non-life insurance company and operates on health insurance plans only. Daman has a huge network of healthcare providers and serves almost 2.5 million customers today. Daman also organizes several health events throughout UAE to help its customers stay healthy and fit.

Pro:

• 4 different plans in the individual health insurance section with further options as per assured sum limit.
• 7 different health insurance plans for large corporate groups and one separate plan for SMEs.
• Specially designed plan for senior citizens
• Regular access to fitness events for all customers
• Over 2000 medical facilities as network providers

Cons:

• Does not offer dental and optical covers for SME health insurance and domestic help health insurance even as optional add-ons.
• Customer care not available on Fridays.

How to Choose the Best Health Insurance Company In UAE?

Check out the Coverage amount and Package

The first thought that comes to your mind when choosing a health insurance company could be to choose the one that has lower premium rates. However, that may not be the smartest decision to make. One thing that you need to understand is that the lower the coverage amount of an insurance plan, the lower the premium will be. This simply means that you may not be able to have all the expenses covered by the insurance company if you claim of a high amount.

You should always try and find an equilibrium of just the right amount of coverage and the amount of premium that you can easily pay. The right coverage amount for you will be the one that not only offers a significant amount of cover in monetary terms but also includes in-patient and out-patient services such as daycare, ambulance expenses, etc. Choose an insurance company that has all these services included in its plans along with the monetary annual cover.

Have a Complete Understanding of the Inclusions

Not every insurance will cover all the same treatments, procedures and medicines. You must browse through the basic as well as additional optional inclusions offered by the health insurance companies in Dubai and then make an informed decision. For example, several health insurance companies in UAE add dental cover as a basic inclusion across all their personal and commercial health insurance plans, some add it as an optional benefit and some do not add it at all. The cost of dental treatment is high in UAE so, if you see a probability of needing this treatment in the foreseeable future, it is smart to choose the company that at least offers it as an optional cover.

Too Much in Too Less is Not a Good Sign

There could be times when you come across health insurance companies in Dubai that are offering a very high coverage amount as well as too many services and treatments in too little of payable premium or deductibles. Always beware of these organisations as there is a good enough chance that they are

Go for Family Plans if you Have Dependents

If you have dependents in your family who are not covered in the insurance plan provided by your employer, you should consider opting for an insurance company that offers a quality family health insurance plan. It will be a less expensive alternative than insuring each member of your family under an individual healthcare plan. Many health insurance companies in Dubai and UAE also offer a segregated cover option in family plans as well where you can decide to allow a portion of the cover to each member or keep it open. When portions are allotted, each member will be able to use only that amount of coverage money from the insurance ensuring that other members can use the insurance covers as well.

Lifetime Renewability is Useful

It may seem like a bleak point but this can come in handy when you are older. Insurance will keep costing you more and more if you buy it when you are older. If your insurance company offers you insurance plans that can be renewed as many times as you like for your lifetime, you will not have to buy a new more expensive plan when you are older.

Network Hospital List Inclusions

If your insurance company has a bigger network of hospitals and clinics, you will be able to get cashless treatment easily without having to travel much. While filling a reimbursement claim is not very difficult when top health insurance companies in Dubai and UAE are concerned, it still can be a bit of a hassle as compared to cashless claims.

Claim-Settlement Ratio

The better the claim settlement ratio your insurance company has, the more are the chances for your own reimbursement claims to get approved. While it is a rather meek possibility that your claim will get denied or rejected if there is nothing wrong with the documents, forms and details, it is still better to have an insurance company with a high claim settlement ratio.

Reviews from Existing Customers

Getting reviews from existing customers or even insurance aggregators like Policybazaar.ae can be a lot helpful in deciding an ideal insurance company for yourself. You will get to know the experience of an actual customer of the company as well as insights from the experts of the field.

Do Not Forget to Compare

Comparison is the key to buying good whether it is health insurance or any other product. Always compare the services and plans offered by the top health insurance companies in Dubai and see which one of them are most suited to your needs. In addition to that, do not forget to compare the different health insurance plan offered by the medical insurance companies in Dubai that you choose after the first line of comparison. You can compare the companies swiftly at insurance aggregators’ websites like Policybazaar.ae or take your time visiting each health insurers’ website separately.

FAQs

Q1. Which health insurance companies in Dubai and UAE offer cashless hospitalization facilities to the insured?

Ans: Almost all top insurance companies in Dubai and UAE offer cashless hospitalization for treatments done in one of the network hospitals. Reimbursements are available for out of network hospitals.

Q2. Can I change my health insurers? Can it be done at any point of time during my coverage period?

Ans: You can change your health insurance provider easily but this can generally be done only during the renewal or new enrolment period of your health insurance plan. The new health insurers should be notified beforehand as well.

Q3. Can I port my current health insurance plan to other health insurance companies in Dubai?

Ans: This depends on the terms and conditions laid out by your health insurance provider. If plan portability is allowed by both the current company and the new company, you can port the plan.  

Q4. How many health insurance companies are there in UAE?

Ans: There are 62 health insurers in UAE as per the data available in 2021 out of which 35 are national insurance companies based in UAE and 27 are international insurance companies.