Oman: Mandatory health cover to boost non-life insurance
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Sep 2018
Oman’s plan for a compulsory health insurance scheme for private sector employees is a positive move aimed at boosting the non-life sector, which has a relatively low penetration rate in the GCC region, according to a Dubai-based financial analyst.
The Capital Market Authority (CMA), the financial regulator, announced in July a decision to introduce a mandatory health insurance system for private sector employees. The government already offers health insurance for the public sector employees.
“It is extremely clear where real growth can be achieved (in the insurance sector); it is most certainly in the life segment, which has low penetration rates in the GCC compared to the non-life segment (which includes health insurance and motor insurance) that formed 87.6% of total GCC insurance in 2016,” Mr Issam Kassabieh, senior financial analyst in the Dubai-based Menacorp financial services company said in an industry interview.
The CMA said the final decision, on compulsory health insurance for all, is currently under legal review. It said implementation will be gradual and did not specify a timeframe for when the decision will be enforced, despite announcing plans last year to introduce the scheme in 2018. Mr Kassabieh said he expects the decision to be implemented by January next year. M