Expat Cover Leads the Way: High Population Growth and Mounting Health Costs Have Left the Region Facing an Insurance Shortfall. but Better Times Lie Ahead for Private Healthcare Providers

Nield, Richard, MEED Middle East Economic Digest

The regional health insurance market is on the brink of a period of dramatic growth as new regulations begin to sweep through the region. According to industry experts, health insurance markets in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are set for a rise in the order of 500 per cent over the next three-free years, with a number of other states in the region also expected to see big increases by the end of the decade. For the region as a whole, the life insurance and health insurance markets are both expected to enjoy compound growth of 10-15 per cent over the next five-10 years.

The key driver behind this is the introduction of mandatory health insurance for companies employing expatriates. With regional population growth of about 3 per cent and expatriate health costs soaring, GCC health ministers have recognised a pressing need to introduce regulations to tackle the problem.

"In the last 20 or so years, driven in particular by high oil revenues, the health service in …

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Publication information: Article title: Expat Cover Leads the Way: High Population Growth and Mounting Health Costs Have Left the Region Facing an Insurance Shortfall. but Better Times Lie Ahead for Private Healthcare Providers. Contributors: Nield, Richard - Author. Magazine title: MEED Middle East Economic Digest. Volume: 49. Issue: 21 Publication date: May 27, 2005. Page number: 35. © 1999 MEED Middle East Economic Digest. All Rights Reserved. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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