How to compare health insurance plans in the UAE

Ask every insurer or broker for the same three documents before you compare prices: the table of benefits, the network list and the policy wording.

What should each quote tell you?

A quote should give you the cover, the limits, what you pay yourself, where you are covered and what is excluded. In Dubai the insurance contract must set out the covered health services, the health service providers, the geographic coverage, the financial limits, the co-payment, and the procedures for cancelling, renewing and complaining.¹

A broker anywhere in the UAE must give you a summary of the cover, including the main risks insured, the insured sum, the geographical scope and a summary of the excluded risks. The broker must also tell you how and for how long the premium is paid, the policy term and how the policy can be ended.²

Send each insurer the same request, then lay the answers side by side using the table below.

What should you check on each plan?

Check these eight points in the documents themselves.

The reference figures come from the Dubai plan’s table of benefits,³ the Abu Dhabi Basic plan terms in force from 1 July 2024,⁴ the Workers Health Insurance plan page⁵ and the Dubai bylaw.¹ Terms such as co-payment and sub-limit are explained in the glossary.

On the network, a Dubai insurer that refuses to give you its provider list faces a fine of AED 1,000 per beneficiary, and AED 500 per beneficiary for delay.⁶ An insurer selling more than basic cover in Dubai must offer a network approved by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) insurance corporation and spread across the UAE.¹

Ask the insurer how long it takes to repay a bill you settle yourself, and get the answer in writing.

Will a condition you already have be covered?

In Dubai it can be excluded for a limited time only. A policy may exclude conditions found before you enrolled, but outside emergencies the exclusion may not run longer than six months from the start of your first health insurance policy.¹

On the EBP, cover cannot be denied because of an existing condition. Treatment for it may be excluded for the first six months of your first scheme in the UAE, and an emergency in those six months must be covered up to the annual limit.³ Sukoon says its six-month wait does not apply to members who were insured before, with proof of that cover.⁷ The northern emirates Basic plan has no waiting period for existing conditions.⁵

Keep your old insurance certificate and ask the new insurer whether it removes the waiting period. Maternity waiting periods are in the maternity guide.

What is excluded from your plan?

The exclusions list in your policy decides it, so ask for the full list. The EBP publishes its own: 41 excluded services, among them services that are not medically necessary, dental prostheses and orthodontics, custodial care and personal comfort items.³ A second list covers injuries from causes such as war, natural disasters, road traffic accidents and work. In an emergency these must be covered until you are stable, at minimum.³

Read the EBP guide, then ask each insurer what its plan excludes beyond that list.

Which rules protect you on every Dubai plan?

Five rules apply whichever Dubai insurer you choose.

• The policy must be in Arabic and English, and you must be given a copy with all annexes.¹
• The insurer must deliver the policy within 14 days of concluding the contract. If it does not, the buyer may cancel and recover the amounts paid.¹
• Prices in a policy that is running may not be increased.¹
• The renewal notice must reach you at least 30 days before expiry, with the premium and any changes.¹
• At renewal, the premium for an existing member may rise by at most 100% a year for each diagnosed condition and 100% in total. This cap does not apply to low salary band members on the EBP.⁸

In Abu Dhabi the insurer must also issue a renewal notice 30 days before expiry, stating the premium and changes.⁹

If a quote breaks one of these rules, ask the insurer to correct it before you pay. The wider rules are in the law guide and the DHA guide.

Can you change your mind after you buy?

In Dubai you can if your contract says so. The buyer is granted a trial period of up to 14 days from the moment the policy takes effect, and the contract may include a right to withdraw without giving reasons and recover what was paid.¹ On withdrawal, every insurance card must be returned. If anyone on the policy has received benefits, what the insurer paid for them must be refunded.¹

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) free look period of at least 30 days sits in its instructions for life insurance and family takaful.¹⁰ Ask a health insurer what its own contract gives you.

Ask the insurer to show you the withdrawal clause in the contract before you sign.

How do you cancel and what do you get back?

In Dubai you get back the part of the premium that matches the time left on the policy, unless the policy was cancelled for fraud.¹ To cancel, you must show proof of another policy or proof that your residence has been cancelled. A sponsor must show that the sponsored person has other cover, or that the visa is cancelled or transferred.¹ A replacement policy may not give less cover, and the old policy cannot end before the new one starts.¹

For dependants and domestic workers you insure yourself, the refund is worked out in whole months. A request made mid-month means that month’s premium is kept. DHA’s example is a policy running 1 January to 31 December with a refund request on 15 April. The refund runs from June to expiry, because cover continues through the 30 days a person has to leave the country.¹¹

The refund is paid to you by the insurer. A broker may not collect premiums, claim payments or refunds.²

In the northern emirates scheme the first year’s premium is not refundable. If you cancel in the first 12 months, only the second year’s premium comes back.⁵

Send your cancellation request in writing with the proof of new cover, and keep a copy.

How do you check a broker is licensed?

Look the broker up on two lists. No one may act as an insurance broker in the UAE without a CBUAE licence.² To sell health insurance in Dubai, DHA’s broker manual also requires a permit from its insurance corporation.¹² DHA publishes its permitted intermediaries¹³ and a separate list of suspended ones.¹⁴ CBUAE publishes a register of insurance companies and brokers, dated April 2025.¹⁵ In Abu Dhabi, acting as a broker without a Department of Health licence carries a fine of AED 20,000 per violation.¹⁶

Before the policy starts, a broker must tell you:

• that it is a broker, licensed and supervised by CBUAE
• whether it offers products from a full range of companies, a limited range or one company
• how it is paid by insurers, with the amount if you ask
• any conflict of interest.²

You pay the premium to the insurer directly. Brokers are prohibited from collecting premiums under any circumstances.² DHA’s list of permitted insurers shows who may sell health insurance in Dubai,¹⁷ and company pages are in the insurer directory.

Find the broker’s name on the DHA list and ask for its CBUAE licence number before you share any documents. If a sale goes wrong, follow the complaints guide.

The small print

Dubai contract contents are in Articles 16(a) and 17 of the Implementing Bylaw. The policy language and copy are in Article 20(a), delivery within 14 days in Article 16(b), the trial period in Article 16(c), the six-month exclusion cap in Article 20(b), cancellation and refunds in Articles 20(d) and 26, and the network duty in Article 3(1). The price rules are in Article 24(d), which sets the conditions for insurers pricing supplementary cover each year. The 30-day renewal notice is in Articles 3(9) and 16(a)(7).¹ The provider list fines are items 27 and 28 of Schedule 2 to Resolution No. 7 of 2016.⁶

The broker licence rule is Article 2-1 of the Insurance Brokers’ Regulation, the disclosure duties are in Articles 12-1 and 12-5, and the ban on collecting premiums and refunds is in Articles 7-1 and 7-3.² DHA’s Broker Guidelines Manual was issued on 20 May 2026 and enters into force on 1 January 2027. It requires brokers to give quotations without alterations and to draw your attention to significant limitations and exclusions.¹²