Health Insurance for Married Couples in the UAE
Get the Best Insurance Plan that fits for Your Need
Why You and Your Spouse Need to Have Health Insurance
Marriage is a major milestone in every person’s life. Dreams are big, and aspirations are high as you start planning for an exciting future in each other’s company. However, the flip side is that you can no longer afford to be carefree and take life as it comes. With marriage comes both joy and responsibilities. A lack of proper financial planning can throw your life out of gear.
Medical insurance is crucial for married couples to safeguard their health, finances, and future. Sudden sickness or accident of a spouse affects both people and other family members equally. Medical treatment and recovery may be long-drawn and impose a heavy financial burden on young couples. Loss of jobs (and income) due to ill health further aggravates the problem they face.
Comprehensive medical insurance provides a safety net for couples to mitigate the financial burden of a health emergency. They can now access good quality healthcare without worrying about medical bills. Several countries have also made it mandatory for people to have compulsory medical insurance coverage. Health insurance for married couples is thus not a choice but a necessity to protect themselves against unforeseen events.
Benefits of Health Insurance for Married Couples
Medical emergencies cannot always be predicted or prevented. The best recourse is to purchase a suitable health insurance plan to alleviate your financial hardships. Medical insurance for a married couple offers the following benefits:
Complete Coverage
Family health insurance plans cover all the expenses related to hospitalization, outpatient care, diagnostic procedures, maternity coverage, and medicines. Both spouses can avail of all these benefits by paying a nominal premium every year.
Enhanced Protection
Health insurance plans for families cover dependent family members such as children and parents. Newly married couples can add their parents and children in the future. There is no need to buy separate policies.
Significant Cost Savings
Covering the entire family under a single policy is more cost-effective than purchasing individual health insurance plans for every member. By choosing a single plan, couples can save big on annual premiums, deductibles, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Better Healthcare Facilities
Top insurance providers enable access to a strong network of hospitals, clinics, and doctors across the country. Through the cashless claim facility at network hospitals, policyholders can get treated without any hassle of paying from their pockets.
Maternity Coverage
Health insurance for a newly married couple is a godsend when they plan to start a family. All the expenses related to pregnancy, such as prenatal care, delivery, and postnatal care, are covered under health insurance.
Long-Term Healthcare
Many young people suffer from congenital disorders and chronic diseases. These conditions typically need continuous monitoring and ongoing medical care. Married couples facing such issues can benefit from health insurance.
Preventive Healthcare Services
Most health insurance plans cover the expenses of preventive healthcare services such as routine checkups, screenings, and vaccinations. Availing these services helps to detect health problems at the onset to take precautionary measures.
Mental Peace
Comprehensive health coverage offers financial security and peace of mind for young couples. They can focus on their relationships, careers, and future lives without worrying about medical bills.
Things to Consider While Buying Health Insurance
Sum Assured
A higher sum assured provides better coverage, but the premium increases. A lower sum assured reduces the premium but may not provide adequate coverage. So the sum assured should be optimal to suit your family’s requirements and budget.
Inclusions & Exclusions
The health conditions covered (inclusions) and not covered (exclusions) indicate the scope of the policy. Policyholders may end up paying a huge sum from their pockets if they are not aware of the policy’s scope. It may also result in frequent claim rejections.
Critical Illness Coverage
Diseases such as cancer, heart attack, kidney failure, etc., can affect people regardless of age. Critical illness coverage offers a lump sum amount immediately after the disease is diagnosed. This can be used to cover medical treatment and other expenses.
Maternity Coverage
Couples who are planning to start a family can immensely benefit from maternity coverage in health insurance. This covers all expenses related to pregnancy, delivery, and newborn child care. The out-of-pocket expenses may impose a huge burden on young couples if the policy does not provide maternity benefits.
Waiting Period
The waiting period in health insurance indicates the time that you have to wait after purchasing a policy to claim insurance benefits. It is usually applicable to pre-existing health conditions and pregnancy. The policy you choose should have a minimal waiting period.
Hospital Network
Couples should choose an insurance company with a robust network of healthcare providers. This ensures that they have ready access to hospitals and clinics that offer cashless claim benefits. Further, a good hospital network ensures the availability of medical services in any part of the country.
Claim Settlement Ratio
Check and compare the claim settlement ratio of various insurance providers. This number indicates the percentage of claims that are successfully settled by an insurer. A higher percentage indicates better reliability of the company.
New-Age Treatments
The health insurance policy should ideally cover advanced medical procedures such as robotic surgery, stem cell treatment, and immunotherapy
How to Add Your Spouse to Your Health Insurance Plan?
You can add your spouse to your current health insurance plan by submitting your marriage certificate to your insurer and completing the other requisite procedures. The insurer then adds the other partner as the spouse to the health insurance policy. Some couples may prefer to buy a new family floater policy after marriage. Many insurance providers offer attractive schemes to replace and expand your existing coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions on Health Insurance for Married Couples
Is it mandatory for married couples to have health insurance in Dubai?
Health insurance is mandatory for all residents of Dubai. Most employers in Dubai provide basic health coverage to their employees and their dependents. It is the employee’s responsibility to get health insurance for dependents if it’s not provided by the employer.
What is the ideal health insurance plan for married couples in the UAE?
There are no specific plans for couples in the UAE. So, a family floater plan is the best health insurance for married couples. Subsequently, the couple can add their children to the same plan.
What is the average cost of health insurance for married couples in the UAE?
Many insurers offer affordable health insurance for married couples. The average cost of family health insurance plans in the UAE ranges between AED 7,000 to AED 10,000 per year.
Disclaimer: The health insurance plan may have limitations, exclusions, and other terms and conditions that may affect coverage. It is important to carefully review the policy wording before making any decision.