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What is the real cost of health insurance in Dubai in 2018?

If there’s one thing that people around the world can agree upon, and certainly Dubai is no exception, it’s saving money. While we can accomplish bolstering our bank accounts by limiting our purchases of new items, and putting off gratification for some of the luxuries that we would like to have in our lives, it’s also important to consider the costs of important needs that we pay for on a regular basis, such as health insurance. And for health insurance in particular, what we pay at the start of our policy may not be what we pay the following year, as medical insurance premiums tend to go up year-on-year.

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Have you checked out the latest cost of your health insurance policy lately? Perhaps, but do you know how that premium stacks up versus the average cost of health insurance in Dubai, or throughout the rest of the world, for that matter? This can be tough information to find, but have no fear: Pacific Prime has released the latest edition of our annual Cost of Health Insurance Report! Here, we will discuss what’s inside, as well as how it can help you with your future insurance purchasing decisions.

Cost of Health Insurance Report 2018

Pacific Prime’s Cost of Health Insurance Report 2018 is home to a wealth of information related to the real costs of international private medical insurance (IPMI) premiums around the world. The medical insurance report ranks the costs of such health insurance from seven different global insurance companies across 100 countries in regions spread across the globe. This information is further broken down by demographics – individual and family plans – and level of coverage included – inpatient only, inpatient + outpatient, or inpatient + outpatient + maternity. You can check the rankings to see where Dubai ranks (more on this later), as well as how countries stack up against one another.

The medical insurance report also includes analysis of the Compound Annual Growth Rates (CAGR) of average premiums in these same 100 countries in order to see if/how insurance plan costs are related.

Data presented isn’t only for the past year, either.

The cost of health insurance in Dubai and beyond

So now to the million dirham question: What is the average overall cost of international health insurance plans in Dubai over the past year? Well, that depends on what demographic you fall into.

For individuals, Dubai ranked fourth highest out of all the countries surveyed when it came to the price of health insurance, while the top three countries ahead of it were the United States, Hong Kong, and Canada, respectively. The United States saw an average cost for individuals of USD$11,942. Meanwhile, this figure for Dubai is USD$5,198.

When it comes to families, however, Dubai jumped to fifth place in the rankings, while China was in fourth and the top three remained unchanged. For family plans, the most expensive US plans averaged $34,298, while Dubai averaged $14,635.

Finally, overall rankings regardless of demographics returned Dubai to the fourth most expensive country overall. The United States’ average cost of health insurance in this ranking is $23,120, while Dubai’s was $9,917. This means that, overall, Dubai’s international health insurance premiums were only 42.9% of plans found in the top-ranked US. This also shows that there is a major drop off in costs from the most expensive countries as we go down the rankings.

The least expensive county covered by the medical insurance report is Angola, with an overall average cost of $6,201 – only 26.8% of the United States’ costs. Of course, it should be noted that this is only an average among the specific insurers used in the medical insurance report, and the specific premiums of a particular plan could vary a great deal.

International health insurance trends

The above is not all that can be found in the report, though. This 2018 edition also includes analysis of the key factors and trends that have been driving international private medical insurance costs in recent years, as well as what to look for in the near future.

First, we highlight five key findings that stem directly from pouring through the data collected for the medical insurance report. These should be interesting points to follow for any individual or business, but especially those that already have international health insurance plans.

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Next, the report looks at the key drivers of IPMI premiums, which are:

  • Increased demand for quality private care
  • Increased regulation
  • Increased healthcare costs
  • Increased demand for international healthcare

For more details on each of these points, simply download the report today for free.

Finally, taking everything presented in the report, we analyze the five key findings and spell out the ramifications of them in easy to understand terms, complete with what to watch out for in 2019 and beyond with regards to the cost of international health insurance.

Download the medical insurance report today

There is much more detail to Pacific Prime’s 2018 Cost of Health Insurance Report than what has been mentioned above. With this in mind, we invite you to download a free copy of it today.

What’s more, if you have any questions related to the cost of health insurance, or simply healthcare or insurance in Dubai in general, contact the helpful health insurance experts at Pacific Prime Dubai! Our team is standing by to provide you with the information you need, as well as a free comparison of top plans in Dubai and a free price quote. Contact us today!

Senior Content Creator at Pacific Prime United Arab Emirates
Serena Fung is a Senior Content Creator at Pacific Prime, a global insurance brokerage and employee specialist serving over 1.5 million clients in 15 offices across the world. With 2+ years of experience writing about the subject, she aims to demystify the world of insurance for readers with the latest updates, guides and articles on the blog.

Serena earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Canada. As such, she is an avid advocate of mental health and is fascinated by all things psychology (especially if it’s cognitive psychology!).

Her previous work experience includes teaching toddlers to read, writing for a travel/wellness online magazine, and then a business news blog. These combined experiences give her the skills and insights she needs to explain complex ideas in a succinct way. Being the daughter of an immigrant and a traveler herself, she is passionate about educating expats and digital nomads on travel and international health insurance.
Serena