Dubai: Pakistan’s largest life insurance company State Life Corporation is planning to launch health insurance scheme for residents in the UAE and elsewhere in the Gulf region, said its top official.
“We are finalising plan to roll out a new health insurance scheme to cover medical needs of hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis and other expats in the UAE and in other the Gulf region countries following high demand from expatriate community,” Shahid Aziz Seddiqi Chairman of State Life Insurance Corporation, said at the annual award giving function held in Dubai.
Since, he added, the medical insurance has become compulsory in Abu Dhabi for all employees and plans are underway to make it mandatory for all companies to cover medical expenses for employees, the State Life considers it timely to launch affordable health insurance policy especially for the low income group of people.
Khalid Mahmoud Shahid, Dubai based Gulf Zonal Chief of the State Life said that they were growing at fast pace in the UAE with the opening of new offices in Sharjah and Al Ain while they would soon open offices in Bahrain and Qatar this year.
He said the newly established office in Sharjah has so far raised US$ 0.6 million premium, which might go up to US$ 1.2 million in the first year of operations. “We will soon open more offices in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah to boost our life insurance business in the UAE,” he told Gulf News
He said State Life has over 15,000 policyholders in the UAE and another 4,000 are expected to be added this year. “We have added about 7,000 policyholders in the past three years, but even the 15,000 figure is not enough considering the huge potential in the country.”
He said the company has evolved an aggressive strategy to double State Life policyholders in the next two years by targeting all communities.
“Our Life Fund in the Gulf region recorded very robust growth in the past three years as premiums rose to $66.5 million this year compared to $38 million in 2008,” he added.
He said State Life is expected to raise $20 million (Dh73.5 million) gross premium in the Gulf Zone this year compared to $16 million in 2011. He also explained the salient features of the company’s non-declaration policy under which policyholders can claim benefits of up to US$65,000 a year without providing a medical declaration.
The company has also announced new Terminal Bonus first time along with Reversionary Bonus in history of Gulf Zone for its policy holders.
