Your partner in health

Being a woman means that there is a higher risk of developing acute health conditions. Suresh Kumar Jain, Founder and Director of Rimaksh Insurance Consultants, highlights the woman-centric insurance offers that his company carries

As a resident or citizen of the UAE, health insurance is mandatory by law in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Health Insurance providers around the world usually consider women a higher risk than men because they are more likely to have and/or develop chronic health conditions. Women visit the doctor more frequently, have longer lives, and go through the process of pregnancy and birth. This requires special attention, care and inclusivity when it comes to insurance policies.

Rimaksh Insurance Consultants recognises the need for woman-specific insurance products and services. Rimaksh promises quality service with honesty and consistency to its customers, as it has done for the last six decades. Rimaksh is a concept-driven entity in the field of the insurance business, consultancy, assets and wealth management and advising investors on taxation aspects with a global perspective endorsing legal and regulatory norms. Established in 1960, it is a third-generation insurance consulting firm, working in India and the UAE.

In Life Insurance and Critical Insurance offerings, there is no significant difference in benefits and coverage for females from their male counterparts. However, their Medical Insurance does cover maternity which is a mandatory inclusion by the Dubai Health Authority. It not only covers maternity, maternity-related complications and medical emergencies but also prenatal needs and antenatal needs as an outpatient. It also covers newborn expenses up to 30 days from the date of delivery and up to the maximum annual benefit limit of the mother.

There is also an additional Basmah programme initiative run by the Dubai Health Authority, whereby three major cancers viz breast cancer, cervical cancer and colorectal cancer, are covered. Breast and cervical cancer are exclusive benefits for women. Though access to this programme is limited, the coverage it offers is unlimited, which makes it very resourceful during such trying times.

The trends show that majority of women's insurance are purchased by male relatives (husband or father) or employers, while women buying insurance on their own are few in number. Even for a financially empowered, independent woman, an ailment of any magnitude burns a hole in the pocket and if she encounters a serious illness, the financial and medical repercussions can leave her drained.

There are several insurance companies across the globe offering health insurance policies exclusively for women such as reimbursement or compensatory forms of insurances. There are also women-specific critical insurance policies such as arthritis, non-cancerous tumours, precancerous stage and others. Apart from the mentioned, there are also cosmetic reconstruction and aesthetic surgery benefits available to women in the event of disfigurement due to accidents.

Women are more susceptible than men to ailments like arthritis, anaemia, urinary tract infections etc. and to have woman only health insurance is always preferable.

The most important coverage for women is the maternity benefit in health insurance policies, which covers normal delivery and caesarean section expenses. The policy also covers medical emergency expenses and screening tests as per the antenatal protocol.

Insurance services for an unborn child is also a unique policy available in many parts of the world. It covers payment of a sum of insurance in the event of a child born with congenital birth defects. The compensation is paid as a lump sum or is partly paid in the future for the child's education benefits.

To learn more about Rimaksh and its services, visit www.rimakshglobal.com