While the UAE is attracting more retirees than ever, many find they are unable to keep up with the costs of health insurance, particularly in the over-60s bracket.
There are no specific packages for retired people and, when they reach their 60s, premiums significantly rise, especially for those with pre-existing conditions.
This is an issue that is pricing many people out of living in the UAE long term in their later years.
British retiree Jo Woolston, 67, who has no pre-existing conditions, was paying about Dh30,000 ($8,168) for her health insurance annually when she first moved to Dubai two years ago. But, following a one-off operation on a torn knee ligament, those costs rose to more than Dh90,000 per year when it was time to renew.
As she is sponsored by her son-in-law, she is now on a basic policy for just over Dh25,000 annually that has limited network coverage.
“I had to get some sort of insurance as it’s the law here, but some over-70s I’ve met don’t have any cover and just pay as they go,” she says.
“It’s so expensive, hopefully some company will do something about it. I would rather pay a smaller premium and then pay 50 per cent or more co-pay when you do use it.
“I’d like to stay out here for another five or six years at least, but the only thing that would make me go back is the cost of health care.”
Loaded premiums and soaring renewal costs
Toshita Chauhan, business head of health and motor insurance at Policybazaar.ae, says this is a continuing issue among her clients.
Currently, there are different rules for the emirates, with health insurance coverage only mandatory in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where residents will receive a fine if they do not have a policy. All residents must be insured to a minimum annual cover of Dh150,000, which must include outpatient and inpatient services.
In the Northern Emirates, there is no minimum product inclusion regulation, but as of January 1, 2025, employer-paid health insurance will become mandatory nationwide.
Ms Chauhan says basic annual plans can start for as little as Dh5,000, which will give members access to lower-cost hospitals such as Aster or NMC, instead of premium providers including Mediclinic.
The costs then go up depending on a buyer’s needs, sometimes reaching up to Dh1 million and beyond, says Ms Chauhan.
“For example, if you want UAE, regional or worldwide cover. If you want something including the US and Canada, that price can obviously pile up.”
The more serious your medical conditions are, the higher the premiums will be, she adds.
“Members who have borderline diabetes or hypertension will get a certain amount of premium loading versus someone who has diabetes and is on insulin.”
The more you claim, the more your policy will be at the time of renewal, too. Policies typically last 12 months and after that period, the insurance company will calculate any claims that have been made and the likelihood of claims for certain conditions in the next year.
In Dubai, companies can load up to 100 per cent of the current premium per condition, Ms Chauhan explains, so if your policy is worth Dh10,000 annually and you develop a spinal issue within that year, then they can add another Dh10,000 to your premium the following year.
Anyone who has made multiple claims in a year but doesn’t have a specific condition may also be pegged as someone with health anxiety, which can again add to the premium.
“For healthy people, it's much easier to sustain the cost of health insurance because they don't get so many loadings on their renewals … But above 60, it's very rare that members will not have any pre-existing condition, so that becomes more expensive,” Ms Chauhan says.
“It is not something that is easily affordable, and there is no particular plan for retirees.”
Loopholes are risky
There are some clients who wish to go on a basic plan for legal reasons, but not declare any pre-existing conditions and go back to their home countries for regular treatment, but Ms Chauhan says this is risky.
“Let’s say tomorrow you have a fever and it requires some sort of additional treatment … The doctor will look at medical history and what medicines you’re on, and they will write it down, and you will tell them what you’re taking, and that’s when your truth comes out.
“This record goes to the insurance company for approval, and they will look at what you declared at the time of buying insurance. If you said no condition, versus what the doctor has said, they will decline everything.”
Changing insurer each year cannot help bring premiums down, either, as companies can access your health records through independent, third-party administrators, she adds.
Some people have started avoiding health insurance costs altogether. One UAE resident, who lives with his parents, was unable to afford coverage because his mother, 69, previously had cancer and his father, 72, had a heart condition. The lowest quote he could find was Dh60,000 per parent annually.
“We did not find any suitable and affordable insurance, so we make sure my parents travel to India once every six months and get their check-up done and get the medicines,” he says.
“The new law [on mandatory health insurance] will be challenging for us. Hopefully by that time some sensible insurance comes in place which can help these kinds of cases.”
Ms Chauhan says they always strongly recommend buying health insurance in the proper manner, “because when you really need it, no one will give it to you”.
Start saving now
Carol Glynn, a personal finance coach based in the UAE, says these are all common concerns among her retired clients.
“As most people have always had their medical insurance provided by their employer, they can get a shock when they learn just how much it costs,” she says.
“Often, they feel resentment, as even if they have not had any medical issues, many insurance companies increase premiums arbitrarily with age, and so they feel premiums are disproportionately high for older individuals.
“This makes it challenging and frustrating to find comprehensive coverage that fits their budget or what they view as good value for their money.”
Complex policy terms and conditions can also be overwhelming and confusing for her clients, she adds.
“No matter where you plan to retire, it is crucial to plan ahead for all costs, including health insurance costs,” says Ms Glynn.
“Make sure you have a clear understanding of the potential costs and set aside sufficient funds to cover them.
“The earlier you start saving for this, the more options you will have available to you when the time comes,” she adds.
“Put the savings in an interest-bearing account, so it’s growing in the years before retirement. If you have more than five years to retirement, consider putting these savings into an investment such as an exchange-traded fund to maximise your growth potential.”
Ways to maximise your insurance budget include considering basic health plans, which offer a safety net for essential health services, or downgrading your network access to include lower-cost hospitals, Ms Glynn recommends.
Removing services such as dental and optical, and saving for those separately, can also reduce your premium, as can optimising your co-payment percentage.
Ms Glynn emphasises the need to start researching and securing health insurance as early as possible, and thoroughly compare insurance providers and policies to find comprehensive coverage at a price that fits your budget.
“Haggle,” she adds. “Use comparison prices to ask for price matching or discounts. The worst that can happen is they say no.”
Finally, focus on your health, she says. “Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can potentially lower your insurance premiums and reduce your need for medical services.”
Ms Chauhan says that while it can be unaffordable for many now, she strongly believes this will change in the future.
There are already initiatives in place, such as a new Abu Dhabi cancer care centre that has pledged to deliver same-day check-ups for drop-in patients with consultations being free, regardless of insurance status.
“The UAE is adapting,” says Ms Chauhan. “It is doing so much more to make it more stable and long-term for people to be here. I’m sure there will be reforms that will come in.”
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
The years Ramadan fell in May
RESULT
Australia 3 (0) Honduras 1 (0)
Australia: Jedinak (53', 72' pen, 85' pen)
Honduras: Elis (90 4)
AT%20A%20GLANCE
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
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The Cockroach
(Vintage)
Ian McEwan
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How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
BLACKBERRY
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20DarDoc%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Samer%20Masri%2C%20Keswin%20Suresh%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%24800%2C000%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Flat6Labs%2C%20angel%20investors%20%2B%20Incubated%20by%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi's%20Department%20of%20Health%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2010%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Meydan Racecourse racecard:
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes Listed (PA) | Dh175,000 | 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden for 2-year-old fillies (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: The Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 1,600m
8.15pm: Maiden for 2-year-old colts (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,600m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 2,000m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,600m.
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Switzerland, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Lord Giltters, Adrie de Vries, David O’Meara
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm Al Fahidi Fort Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Land Of Legends, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
10pm Dubai Dash Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner Equilateral, Frankie Dettori, Charles Hills.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."