Expats spend SR100 million on dependents’ medical insurance

Jeddah, Dec 29: Expatriate workers pay nearly SR100 million for their dependents’ medical insurance as some employers only cover their staff and not families, according to an insurance expert

Abdullah Al-Banawi, a member of the insurance committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), told Arab News that the new decision to provide medical insurance to families of the expatriate staff is not approved yet.

“Some private companies provide medical insurance (Class A or B) to their expatriate staff and their dependents. However, most private companies in the Kingdom do not cover expatriate workers’ dependents. Therefore, several expatriates take recourse to insurance companies for medical insurance (Class C),” he added.

The government recently licensed many insurance companies to meet the growing demand for services, especially in the health sector. The health insurance market has picked up momentum with many hospitals and polyclinics that are being set up or expanding their existing capacity.

“All private businesses will provide medical insurance for their expatriate workers and families soon, while the Health Insurance Council issued decision to provide medical insurance to all expatriate workers and their families,” Al-Banawi said.

A senior insurance executive told Arab News earlier that most companies now provide medical insurance for their workers and family members. He said once government provides medical insurance for all Saudis, this would double the market, which is already worth SR25 billion.

He said the maximum medical insurance coverage for a person would be increased from SR250,000 to SR500,000, effective July 1, 2015. “This will naturally increase premiums by 25 to 35 percent,” he said.

Some companies have already increased premiums by 5 to 15 percent due to inflation and the rise in medicine prices.