Market expects to grow with new single health insurance policy

Omar Al-Mahmood

An insurance expert expects further growth rate for the health insurance sector in Saudi Arabia after the full application of the single health insurance policy for the employer as per the resolution of the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI) that came into effect on July 10.
Omar Al-Mahmood, VP medical insurance and Takaful at Tawuniya, explained that implementing the single health insurance policy for the employer will greatly reduce fraudulent unreal insurance where some insurance companies had manipulated for beneficiaries. It also places restrictions on the issuance of individual policies where the system will allow for issuing only one insurance policy for the employer including his employees and their dependents.
He added: “The new regulation will make it mandatory for the employers to insure all employees who work in their organization and their family members. This will contribute to expanding the mandatory health insurance to include the employees whom employers, especially at small to medium entities (SMEs), were not keen to provide them with insurance.”
Al-Mahmood stressed that CCHI’s resolution allows the issuance of one insurance policy under only one sponsor number. He pointed out that this amendment may double the administrative load for customers and insurance companies, but it will lead to the accurate calculation of health insurance loss ratios and then determine the price based on the actual results, as well as generate proper technical procedures to manage them.
Al-Mahmoud appreciated the support provided by CCHI for implementing the single Health Insurance Policy for employers by providing insurance companies with access for the employer’s insurance data.
The CCHI has issued the resolution No. 103 on April 13, to conduct a single health insurance policy for each employer and the application will be through four phases of mechanism started on July 10, and will end in April 10, 2017.