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JEDDAH — While issuing or renewing iqamas (residence permits), the Passport Department has begun demanding documents to prove that health insurance cover is provided to expatriate workers by their employers.
It is believed that the compulsory health insurance will help the country’s eight million expatriate workers and their dependents receive good health care and also boost the Kingdom’s growing insurance market.
Health Minister Dr Hamad Al Manie said that the cooperative health insurance scheme would cover all expatriate workers as well as Saudis working in the private sector this year. "It will be applied later to all Saudis," he said.
The Council for Cooperative Health Insurance has already instructed companies to provide health insurance cover to all their employees. They have also been asked to furnish details of health insurance policies and the iqama numbers of beneficiaries and their dependents to the insurance companies.
The government has recently licensed many insurance companies to meet the growing demand for insurance service, especially in the health sector. The health insurance market has gained momentum with many hospitals and polyclinics either being set up or expanding their existing capacity.
Insurance experts say that the health insurance market will witness considerable growth as a result of the new measure.
The mandatory health insurance for expatriates is seen as a move in keeping with advanced countries that introduced such schemes many years ago. They say that at present the market is nascent and companies are offering different premiums. In course of time the market will be streamlined and the rates will be standardised.
The Passport Department in the Eastern Province introduced the link between iqamas and insurance a few weeks ago. Expatriates in the Makkah region are now required to produce their medical cards in order to get their iqamas renewed.
Last year, the Council of Ministers licensed 13 new insurance companies in the Kingdom. The insurance market in Saudi Arabia, which is estimated at SR8 billion, is set for a massive growth following this move. According to a report by the National Commercial Bank (NCB) , the development of health insurance will result in a further SR30 billion being invested in the Saudi health sector.
The report also predicted that the Kingdom’s insurance market will jump from SR8 billion to SR18 billion within the next five years. |
