Does Health Insurance cover Death?

The above plans and premiums are for AED 1,000,000 Sum insured for 1 Adult of 30 Years for Dubai city.

Healthcare facilities and medical insurance in Dubai are an indispensable part of our lives. From small things like doctor consultations to big ones like hospitalization and surgeries, health insurance steps in to make bearing healthcare expenses a lot easier for residents of the UAE. Health insurance supports us through most stages of our lives, true, and even often encourages the policyholder to lead a healthier lifestyle. Medical insurance in the UAE is pretty far advanced, comprehensive, and mandatory for the benefit of the residents. However, one question remains – does health insurance cover death benefits in the UAE? If yes, then in what way. If not, then what are the alternatives one can look into? Let’s examine these facts that need some attention and planning too.

Does Health Insurance Cover Death Benefit?

Unfortunately, medical insurance in Dubai in its most basic form does not offer a death benefit to the dependents of the beneficiaries of the insured. The most a health insurance plan is going to do for you is that it’ll handle all the treatment expenses for covered conditions and illnesses up to the assured sum limit. However, there is one special cover through which a health insurance plan can be customized into offering death benefits to the dependents. But even that works only in pre-specified scenarios. This cover is known as the personal accident cover which can be taken with a health insurance plan as an add-on or rider cover for an additional benefit.

How Does Personal Accident Insurance Fit in This Context?

Personal accident cover, when combined with medical insurance in Dubai can offer your dependents a death benefit compensation if you, the policyholder, meet your demise through an accident. Again, this cover only comes into the picture if the death of the policyholder was because of an accident and not an illness. Other benefits this cover can offer are disability compensation for permanent partial/complete or temporary complete disabilities. Some covers may even offer compensation for the lost income due to a disability that occurred as a result of the accident.

What Are the Alternatives?

Even if your medical insurance in Dubai does not offer death benefits in the basic plan, there is one ultimate alternative that you can look into – life insurance plans. Most insurance companies offer several types of life insurance plans – ones that last a lifetime, ones with a specific term period, ones with an investment option combined, etc. Depending on your needs and preferences, you can easily have your pick. The following are some of the most suitable alternatives you can go for when looking for death benefits:

Whole Life Insurance Plans: As the name suggests, these life insurance plans continue till the death of the insured and pay up compensation to the dependents or the beneficiaries. Whole life insurance plans never expire as long as you keep paying the premium timely. They may come with additional benefits related to critical illnesses, terminal illnesses and accidental death, generally absent from other kinds of life insurance plans.

Term Life Insurance Plans: This is a type of life insurance plan that can be taken for a specific period only. The tenure is generally flexible and can be anything from 5 to 35 years, as per the provider. Term life insurance expires once the pre-decided tenure of the plan comes to its end. The death benefit is paid only if the policyholder meets their demise in the prefixed tenure of the plan. If you are looking for a plan to ensure the well-being of your dependents until they grow up to support themselves, term life insurance can be a good choice.

Personal Accident Cover: Even if not a life insurance cover, personal accident covers do offer death benefits but only for accidental deaths. This cover also comes with disability benefits, as mentioned above. If your life insurance cover is the one that does not cover accidental deaths, this cover can come in handy as an add-on with your medical insurance in Dubai.

Life vs Health Insurance – Should you Consider Both or Either of Them?

Unlike medical insurance in Dubai, taking a life insurance plan is voluntary in the UAE and almost every other country in the world. However, this does not mean that it is any less important or beneficial than a health insurance plan. Since both these plans deal with two completely different things, it is best to get them both if you are quite concerned about having a death benefit and leaving your dependents with a compensation amount. Taking out either one of them will not mean that you do not need the other. Life insurance plans serve one purpose while health insurance handles the other one. So, for health treatments, illnesses and surgery-related benefits, you will need medical insurance in Dubai and for a death benefit, you will need a life insurance plan, either whole or term.

As far as personal accident covers are concerned, you may think of choosing one of these as an additional cover with either your health or car insurance plan. Don’t forget to check if your car insurance plan offers accidental injury and death cover as a basic benefit in the plan so that you do not pay for the add-on twice. Life insurance plans generally do not cover accidental death. So, for comprehensive protection, you may think of getting this rider cover as well.

You may be insured under the sponsorship of your father, mother, husband or guardian in Dubai. A person either needs to be fully employed or have a sponsor if they want to obtain a resident visa for the UAE. A case may arise when you are insured by your sponsor and they meet their demise unexpectedly. In a situation like this, you can opt for two options – either become self-employed (if you do not want to be sponsored) or find a new sponsor. The sponsor of dependents is responsible for getting them the mandatory medical insurance in Dubai and the UAE.

Can Sponsorship Be Transferred?

Sponsorships can be easily transferred in the UAE with just a little bit of paperwork. If you were insured under the sponsorship of your late husband and would like to take on the sponsorship of the children if any, and the parents, simply send an application through the GDRFA channels. You will need documented proof for the death of the husband, the house that you have to live in, your ability to earn, medical certificates showing your fitness levels, valid Emirates ID card and previous health insurance cards if asked. This application process will transfer the sponsorship and extend the resident visa validity by 1 year as well. You will not require a substitute sponsor during the one-year visa extension time.

Any woman can sponsor her parents, children and even husband in the UAE as long as certain criteria are met. Women who are working in the field of medicine and engineering require a minimum salary of AED 8,000 to be sponsors in the UAE. Women who are working in any other fields other than these two require a salary of AED 10,000 to be sponsors. A widowed or divorced woman can sponsor her children and parents using the aforementioned paperwork. In some special cases, women can even sponsor their husbands if the husband is proven to be physically disabled or incapable of working. Being the sponsor of the household and an employee of a company, women are to get the same employee benefits as men from their employers. They are liable to get group medical insurance plans for themselves in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi and their dependents in Abu Dhabi alone.

Conclusion

The death benefit may seem like something you are not to need anytime soon. But it becomes a highly important thing if you are the sole breadwinner for the family and several people depend on you for their livelihood. Having medical insurance in Dubai that offers some kind of lump-sum compensation to help your dependents financially is a good idea in this situation. Does medical insurance cover death benefits? Unfortunately, no. But there are several other kinds of alternative insurance plans that you can try out and have your pick for the death benefit. Since the main goal here is to leave your family financially supported after your death, these life insurance options and accidental death cover plans will help you ideally. Just make sure that you only buy what you need after carefully comparing the plans and assessing your needs.