Aged and retiring expats over 60 complain that insurance companies in the Kingdom reject their requests for medical insurance coverage.

The retiring expatriates are the first generation of migrants to the Kingdom that participated in the Kingdom’s development starting with the infrastructure. Most of them have left their jobs in the private sector and now live with their sons who work in the Kingdom. However, their sons often don’t earn enough to take out an insurance cover for their parents and are unable to pay the high fees of private hospitals.

Many aged expatriates have been working in private companies in the Kingdom for over 40 years but labor regulations such as the Saudization program has forced them to retire.

While most private companies provide medical insurance to their expatriate employees and their families, they refuse to extend this to the employees’ parents. At the same time, several aged expats face health problems and need constant medical care.

“My parents are over 60 years old but insurance companies have refused to provide them with medical coverage because they are expats. At the same time, private hospitals charge a high fee and I don’t earn enough to pay for these medical services required by my aged parents,” Kamal Ahmed, a Yemeni resident in Jeddah, told Arab News.

Ali Humaidan, a senior insurance executive, said: “The private sector does not provide medical insurance cover for expat employees’ fathers living in the Kingdom because insurance companies refuse to give medical cover to retiring expats above 60 and who have health problems.”

However, the Cooperative Health Insurance Council has urged all private businesses to abide by the law and provide compulsory medical insurance for expat employees and their families.

Ibrahim Youssef Al-Raml, a former member of the Insurance Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “There are some private firms that have not yet implemented the new decision to provide medical insurance to the families of their expat staff.”

According to the new requirements, which have been published on the Passport Department’s website, the employment contracts of expat workers must include medical insurance for them and their family members. In addition, medical insurance is required for all expat workers arriving in the Kingdom.