UAE: Insurers in talks to draw up unified federal position on COVID-19 risk
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Nov 2021
The Emirates Insurance Association (EIA) is holding discussions about adopting a unified federal policy on COVID-19 coverage.
EIA vice chairman and the chairman of the association’s health and life insurance committee Hamad Abdullah Al Mehyas stressed the importance of cooperation with the association to assess and study the position of reinsurers regarding various types of insurance coverage.
An area of importance is insurance policies that contain clear exceptions to the coverage of epidemics announced locally or globally.
In an interview with Al-Roeya, Mr Al Mehyas, who is also the CEO of Daman, said that this is needed given that reinsurers are the ones who bear the majority of the risks since local insurers lack the capacity.
Asked about insurers that refuse to cover COVID-19 risk, he said, “In general, medical treatment is insured for all and the difference is limited only to the party who pays the costs - either the health insurer or the responsible authority in the concerned emirate. If legislation places the responsibility for coverage on the insurer, it is assumed that there will be no difference, as the law applies to everyone.”
Apart from medical treatment, he said there is also a need to cover non-medical costs resulting from COVID-19 infections such as quarantines or work stoppage losses. He said the liability in these instances would depend mainly on the benefits schedule and the type of insurance policy, whether it is a travel insurance policy and a business interruption insurance policy or a workers compensation insurance policy. M