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UAE’s unemployment insurance from Dh5: Can residents pay higher premiums for better benefits?
Dubai employee says he is willing to shell out up to Dh100 a month for the security the scheme offers
Starting January 1, 2023, employees of private and federal government sectors in the UAE can subscribe to the mandatory insurance scheme against job loss from Dh5 to Dh10 per month. In the event of job loss for a non-disciplinary reason, this will give the insured 60 per cent of their basic salary (capped at Dh10,000 and Dh20,000 per month, depending on the package) for three months.
However, an employee may subscribe to other plans that will offer “additional benefits”, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre) told Khaleej Times.
“This can be done in coordination with the relevant service provider,” said the ministry.
The Federal Decree-Law on the scheme also mentions this aspect. “Additional benefits may be negotiated between the insured and the service provider,” a translation of the decree-law says.
For many residents, this comes as a relief.
Dubai resident Ronn Santos, an artificial intelligence engineer, said he is ready to shell out up to Dh100 per month for the scheme.
“A lot of my friends and relatives lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic and I have seen very closely what it can do to families. When I read about the UAE’s insurance scheme and its low premiums, my first thought was whether I could pay extra premium for better benefits.
“I will definitely go for a higher premium if the scheme offers me better security,” added Santos.
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The scheme has two categories based on employees’ basic salaries.
“When the basic wage is Dh16,000 and less, the value of the insurance premium should not exceed Dh5 per month/Dh60 annually. When the basic wage is more than Dh16,000, the value of the insurance premium should not be more than Dh10 per month/Dh120 annually,” the MoHRE explained in response to the questions Khaleej Times sent.
During the insurance period over the entire work life of the insured in the UAE, the aggregate claim payment shall not exceed 12 monthly benefits (regardless of the number of claims submitted).
Subscribing to the scheme is easy. It can be done via the insurance pool website or app, ATMs, exchange companies, bank apps or even text messages.
According to Mohre, the Dubai Insurance Company has been “contracted as a representative of the insurance pool” that includes nine companies to offer the scheme. These include:
- Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company
- Al Ain Al Ahlia Insurance Company
- Emirates Insurance Company
- National General Insurance Company
- Orient Insurance
- Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company
- Oman Insurance Company
- Orient UNB Takaful Company
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