Pre-Existing Condition Coverage in Dubai

When applying for health insurance you will have to provide a full medical history. This will include any pre-existing illnesses or injuries that you have previously suffered from or are still suffering from prior to the start of your new insurance plan. Outside of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, insurers will usually exclude coverage of these conditions but there are plans available that do cover them. 

If you have pre-existing conditions and are a resident of Dubai then they should be covered as regulations in the Emirate require all insurers to underwrite applicants while disregarding medical history. That said, insurers are allowed to attach a waiting period of six months to any pre-existing conditions (this time must elapse before an insurer will accept claims related to the condition). 

Outside of Dubai, if you have pre-existing conditions, the insurance company has a number of options when deciding to underwrite your application (covered below) for pre-existing condition coverage. The coverage on offer for any pre-existing conditions will be dependent on the severity of the conditions and the length of time they have affected you.

To be clear here: All insurance plans sold in Dubai must cover pre-existing conditions. However, for plans sold outside of Dubai, insurers will tend to treat applicants with pre-existing conditions in one of five ways:

• Provide full coverage of all conditions, including pre-existing conditions, with no premium loading or exclusions.
• Cover your pre-existing conditions but with a premium loading*.
• Cover pre-existing conditions after a moratorium period**. This is most common in Dubai. 
• Exclude coverage of your pre-existing conditions, but cover you for everything else.
• Refusal of coverage entirely.

*Premium loading involves paying a higher premium to make sure you will be covered for your treatment.

**A moratorium period is a length of time when you cannot claim any treatments for your pre-existing conditions.

If you are applying for a group or company insurance plan, it may be possible to arrange for full coverage of pre-existing conditions for all members of the group outside of Dubai. This type of coverage is typically only available to large groups, so if it is something you would like to pursue, talk to one of our advisors today.  

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