Understanding the Coverage: What Does Group Medical Insurance Include?

Introduction

Obtaining medical insurance for employees is critical for ensuring the sustainable growth of an organization. However, small and medium businesses often wonder about the cost and hassles of providing insurance benefits to workers. Conducting medical check-ups for each of them, arranging the details, paying a huge premium, and so on—all these are not desirable activities for employers. 

Hence, group medical insurance is gaining popularity. With its easy, hassle-free claiming process and low premium features, it covers the medical needs of a group of people, usually employees. 

If you, as an employer, are also planning to obtain group medical insurance, you must know essential details about the policy beforehand. This blog is here to guide you in this matter. It will highlight the features of group medical insurance. Further, the coverages under the insurance plan will be discussed in detail. 

Features of Group Medical Insurance in UAE

• Employers can choose to offer comprehensive coverage along with basic necessary benefits under a group medical insurance policy plan in the UAE. 

• Large groups can be covered by providing an affordable premium as the risks are distributed among all group members.

• Most group health insurance plans are valid for one year. Once the validity is over, employers should renew it annually. 

• Group medical insurance policies provided by notable insurance companies are versatile. Hence, they can fulfill the requirements of different businesses.

• A minimum employee strength is required to obtain group health insurance. The numbers vary as per insurance companies. 

• The business applying for group health insurance is required to be a legal entity registered under respective authorities.  

• Employees to be covered under the group insurance should have a valid working visa in the UAE and be under the company payroll as full-time workers.

Inclusions under Group Medical Insurance in UAE

• Hospitalization expenses: Group insurance pays for the bills due to hospitalization, including room charges, tests, medicines, ICU care cost and other associated costs of inpatient care. Employees need to be admitted for at least 24 hours in the hospital to avail themselves of this coverage benefit.

• Surgery costs: If, due to a pre-existing illness or newly diagnosed health condition, surgery becomes inevitable, group medical insurance bears the expenses of all those major and minor surgeries. 

• Outpatient care: As a comprehensive healthcare plan, group medical insurance policies in the UAE cover all sorts of outpatient care costs. It means that even if an employee does not stay at the hospital overnight, the costs of availed medical facilities can be covered under group insurance policies. 

• Prescriptions: The costs of routine medicines and drugs prescribed by doctors for critical scenarios can be covered by a group medical insurance scheme. Besides, the insurance plan covers other healthcare measures like dietary routine and daily activities mentioned in doctors’ prescriptions. 

• Laboratory and radiology costs: Group health insurance provided by notable insurers often provides coverage for diverse laboratory and radiology activities. The activities include blood tests, X-rays, MRIs and other diagnostic tests, along with chemotherapy, hemodialysis, etc.

Add-on Coverages of Group Medical Insurance Policy

Diverse group medical insurance policy plans include additional benefits that increase their scope of coverage. Some of such common add-ons include: 

Maternity cover: This coverage pays for pregnancy, childbirth and newborn care. Some insurers also offer options to waive the waiting period for receiving maternity coverage. 

Dental cover: Some leading insurance providers offer additional coverage for dental treatment and care under group health insurance plans. This coverage broadly includes preventive dental care, cleaning sessions, dental investigations, root canals, fluoride treatments, fillings, extractions, crowns, etc. 

Optical cover: The cost of eye care, optical treatments, minor eye surgeries, and so on are often covered by this additional coverage under group medical insurance policy.

Critical illness cover: In cases of chronic health issues, critical diseases, etc. employees may get coverage for the medical expenses, if the additional critical illness coverage is added to the group insurance plan. 

Global coverage: Sometimes, an add-on extension can be included to extend the coverage area of the insurance plans. With this benefit, employees can get worldwide coverage for medical expenses. 

The availability of add-ons depends on the negotiation between insurers and policyholder employers. Employers should learn about the added benefits before paying extra premiums for the add-on coverages. 

Final Words 

Considering the importance of employees’ well-being in a company, businesses nowadays plan to go ahead with group health insurance policy. Nonetheless, before finalizing a package, it is recommended to review the policy documents carefully. Moreover, employers should go through the different options for the group insurance plans, understanding limitations and inclusions for each of the plans. 

Leading insurance service providers like CoverB help the employers ensure a hassle-free claim process for whatever plan they choose from the wide range of options.

Connect with experts at CoverB today for tailored insurance service for all your needs!