Expats Risking Health And Wealth
Thursday, July 08, 2010

Expatriates and other travellers are jeopardizing their travel insurance by failing to tell their insurer about existing medical conditions, or risking their health by not taking out any medical insurance at all.

A survey by Sainsbury's found over half a million British holidaymakers travelled abroad in the last year with a long-term medical complaint without telling their insurance provider about it, potentially invalidating any claim they may have made.

The retailer's study revealed that around 245,000 travellers did not tell their insurance provider about their severe back pain, 110,000 went abroad without adequate cover for a respiratory condition and another 50,000 failed to inform their provider about a heart condition.

"The costs of medical treatment abroad can be exceptionally high and simply omitting to give details of a pre-existing condition because you felt it wasn't relevant could, in the event of an accident or further illness, prove very costly indeed," warns Scott Gorman, Sainsbury's travel insurance manager.

The problem of uninsured foreign nationals has grown to such an extent in the expat magnet of Dubai that the government is currently considering legislation to ensure that foreigners have a minimum level of health insurance coverage in the event that they fall ill.

Over the past year, the Dubai Health Authority has carried out a major survey of 5,000 Dubai residents, split 50/50 between Emiratis and expat workers and their families, to obtain an overview of the health of the Emirate. The results of the survey, to be analyzed over the next 18 months, will be used to inform Dubai's future health policies.

"The objective of the survey is to understand the needs of Dubai's nationals, residents and visitors so the DHA can meet these needs by tailoring our policies to suit the requirements of the people of Dubai in an evidence-based manner," explained Laila Al Jassmi, CEO of Health Policy and Strategy Sector at the DHA.

"It will help us identify and thus address priority healthcare issues and develop effective, long-term solutions to address Dubai's major healthcare concerns. This includes a range of issues from improving access to health care services, better implementation of policies to tackling chronic healthcare issues such as diabetes," added Dr. Eldaw Abdalla Suliman, Head of Research and Performance Management.

According to the survey, three-quarters of Indians, other Asians and Arab expatriates in Dubai have no health insurance. The survey also showed that less than one-quarter (23%) of the bottom fifth of wage-earners, who earn an average of AED2,273 (USD619) a month, had health insurance coverage.

“Initially, the survey has shown there is quite a large percentage of people not covered by health insurance," Al Jassmi said, adding: “People need at least a minimum coverage.”

Dubai has explored introducing a health levy on businesses paid per employee to provide universal healthcare, but nothing has come of the proposals. The emirate is also considering laws to make health insurance mandatory, as is the case in nearby Abu Dhabi.