How to complain about a health insurer in the UAE

Take a complaint about a health insurer to the insurer first. Sanadak may reject a complaint that was not raised with the insurer beforehand.¹

Where do you start your complaint?

Start with the insurer, in writing, and keep the date and reference number.

In Dubai, insurers and the claims administrators that work for them must take complaints through at least five channels, including telephone, SMS, email, in person and their website or portal.² They must tell you that you can take the complaint further to the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) insurance corporation, and set out the procedure in policy documents and on their websites.² An insurer may not charge you a fee for a complaint you file with it.³

The matters DHA lists as complaints include denial of coverage, rejection of a claim, delays in refunds, reimbursements, approvals and cards, and changes to policy terms such as exclusions, renewal, premiums or the network.² If you bought through a broker, the broker must tell you how it handles complaints and pass an unresolved one to the insurer.²

Send the complaint by email or through the insurer’s portal so you hold a dated copy.

How long does your insurer have to answer?

In Dubai, seven days. The insurer must resolve your complaint within seven days of receiving it, unless DHA grants an extension, under DHA’s complaints directive in force from 27 October 2025.² The 2016 fines resolution fines an insurer AED 20,000 for not deciding a complaint within 30 days, unless DHA extends the period.⁴

The Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH) penalties schedule sets a fine of AED 5,000 for each complaint not replied to within 30 days of being lodged.⁵

Note the date you complained and move to the next step if you have no written answer when the period ends.

How do you take a complaint further in Dubai?

File it with the Dubai Health Insurance Corporation, the part of DHA that hears complaints about any health insurance policy authorised in Dubai.²

Your complaint must:

• come from you, or from someone holding your power of attorney or a signed release of information
• describe the subject and say what you are asking for
• include supporting documents.²

The bylaw adds that it must be in Arabic, or in Arabic and English.³

DHA will not admit a complaint if more than one calendar year has passed since the dispute first arose, if it has already been resolved, or if it is before a court.² The corporation registers the complaint, serves it on the insurer, investigates and issues a written decision.² The directive does not set a time limit for that decision.

DHA’s services page lists “Submit an Insurance Complaint through the Unified Complaints System” for individuals.⁶ The directive gives the system’s address as services.dha.gov.ae/mga/sps/auth.² DHA’s insurance site also offers iPROMeS, a platform for members’ feedback, complaints and suggestions.⁷

File through the Unified Complaints System within one year of the dispute. The regulator’s role is explained in the DHA guide.

How do you take a complaint further in Abu Dhabi?

File it with DoH through its website. The service is called “Request for Submitting Health Insurance Complaint” and covers the Thiqa, Basic, Enhanced and Aounak programmes.⁸

You file on the department’s website, receive a reference number by SMS and email, and receive the result by phone call, SMS and email.⁸ The page says most complaints are resolved in 30 to 60 working days. For suspected fraud and abuse cases it gives 36 to 48 months.⁸

The page’s fee list shows AED 100 for “complaints and appeals submitted against a violation decision by a patient or sponsor”.⁸ The page does not say whether a fee applies to a member’s complaint about a claim. Ask the department before you pay.

Gather the six documents, then start the service from the department’s page. Abu Dhabi’s rules are in the Abu Dhabi guide.

When can you take your complaint to Sanadak?

You can go to Sanadak once you have complained to the insurer and waited. Sanadak was set up by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) in 2023 and takes health insurance complaints against insurers CBUAE licenses.⁹

Sanadak’s complaint page says to wait 15 calendar days after you complained to the insurer, with no written response or one you are not satisfied with.^9,1 Its FAQ page says 30 calendar days.¹⁰

Sanadak’s eligibility check asks you to confirm that:

• you are a person, a sole proprietor or a small or medium business
• you made an official complaint to the insurer first
• the matter is not before a court.¹

It also asks whether you have complained about the same issue before. Sanadak may reject a complaint that is identical to another, that has already been settled with the insurer, or that relates materially to an insurer’s internal pricing policy.¹

You may submit up to three years from the conduct complained about, or up to two years from the date you became aware of it, whichever is longer. Sanadak says some exceptions may be considered.⁹ You can submit online, by mobile app, by phone or in person, and the insurance portal is smartservices.sanadak.gov.ae.¹¹

Wait at least 15 calendar days after complaining to the insurer, then check your case against the eligibility list before you submit.

What does Sanadak cost and can you appeal?

A first complaint is free for consumers and small and medium businesses. An appeal costs AED 500. Sanadak says the fee is refunded if the decision goes in your favour.⁹ Its FAQ page says the refund is at Sanadak’s discretion.¹⁰

Appeals in insurance cases go to the Insurance Dispute Resolution Committee.⁹ Sanadak says the appeals committee aims to give a decision within 20 working days of receiving all the documents, and that this may be extended.¹⁰

Sanadak says that for complaints against insurance companies, complainants “have to complain to Sanadak first and not to the courts”.⁹ Dubai’s bylaw says a health insurance contract must send disputes to DHA’s insurance corporation before a court or arbitration.³

Keep Sanadak’s decision letter, because the appeal starts from it.

Which route should you choose after the insurer?

Either the emirate’s health regulator or Sanadak will take a complaint once the insurer has had its chance. Sanadak asks that you complained to the insurer first and waited.¹ DHA will not admit a complaint that has already been resolved or is before a court.²

The time limits differ: one year at DHA, and three years or two years from awareness at Sanadak.^2,9

If you go to the regulator first, file inside its one-year limit, and ask Sanadak whether it will take a complaint the regulator has already decided. If the problem is that you were never insured, read the fines guide. Before your next policy, use the plan comparison guide.

The small print

The Dubai directive is PD-04-2025. Jurisdiction is in section 4.1.1, submission requirements in 4.1.2, your right to take a complaint to the corporation in 4.2, admissibility in 4.3, the corporation’s procedure in 4.4, broker duties in 4.5(c), and complaint channels, categories and timelines in 4.6. The directive also requires insurers to document a complaint within seven working days, or 24 hours in an emergency.² The ban on complaint fees is in Articles 3(7) and 4(15) of the Implementing Bylaw, the language rule in Article 28(b), admissibility in Article 28(d), and the rule on disputes going to the corporation before a court in Article 17(8).³ DHA announced the launch of its electronic platform for health insurance complaints in a circular of 16 October 2023.¹² The 30-day fine is item 36 of Schedule 2 to Resolution No. 7 of 2016.⁴

The Abu Dhabi 30-day reply rule is item 31 of the penalties schedule and applies to any party in the health system.⁵ The department’s fee list also shows AED 2,000 for complaints and appeals by employers, healthcare providers, insurers, brokers and claims administrators.⁸