|
| KHALEEJ TIMES FEBRUARY 22ND 2005
LIFE Insurance products are principally concerned with providing income for the living and possible reasonable level or retirement income or to provide income for the loved ones in the event of death or disability. National General Insurance, the fourth company to enter life insurance business in the U.A.E has found the best possible solution for expatriates to accumulate funds and to protect themselves accordingly.
"Our study and observation shows that expatriates give priority to their future and are always keen to invest. We at National General Insurance recognized this fact and designed our plans to take utmost care |
| possible especially in case the expatriates decides to leave (and return) back to their home countries," Dr. Abdul Zahra Abdullah Ali, General Manager, NGi, said in an interview. Here are excerpts:
1.National General Insurance was the fourth company to enter the life individual insurance business in the UAE in 2003. What has been your experience of this new line?
When we decided to enter this industry, we recognized from the outset that it is vital to start planning well in advance assessing and reviewing the opportunities and limitations that exist in the market. Life insurance is not easy to sell particularly in this Middle East market. Failure to predict or recognize the need for change is one of the major factors leading to unsuccessful operations.
We assessed the resources and the limitations available to us in order to achieve our set company targets. There were many areas that needed special attention namely reinsurance treaties, actuarial studies, local laws and legislations.
Also the staff is the single most important attribute to any active operating company. Without a strong team of talented individuals in the key management positions, no company can hope to be really successful in the long term. Keeping this factor in mind, NGI has been aggressive in its hiring and training its employees.
We have also taken competition into consideration and designed our plans that are suitable for the UAE market, which comprises of locals and a huge expatriate market. Lastly our aim to create an insurance awareness amongst the people and are expecting a promising growth this year.
2. Could you describe the benefits of bancassurance products that NGI offers through alliances with Emirates Bank?
The customers of the Emirates Bank have plenty of quality bancassurance products available. Emirates Bank offers four products where in two are investment and protection related and the other two are for protection purposes only .The plan description in summary is as follows:
Retirement Plan:
This plan includes both investment as well as protection and aims to secure for the client the retirement benefit with an insurance protection in case of a covered event during the term of the contract. It is a contract tailor made to suit the client's own choice of the amounts of the premiums. The premium and the benefits could be constant or increasing after the first policy by the annual variation rate compounded annually. The balance of each premium paid after the deduction of expenses and changes is allocated for investment. At maturity date, the value of investment will be paid either in lump sum or as an annuity payable for a guaranteed period of time.
Educational Plan:
This plan includes investment and protection aiming to secure for the client's child/ children an annuity for the tuition fees. The value of the investment account at that time or the equivalent value of an annuity payable for the guaranteed period specified in the contract (i.e. the university period).
Term Insurance Plan:
This plan is a conventional pure insurance product under which the sum insured is payable in the event of client's death within a specified period. It is suitable for the replacement of the family's income when there is early death of the income earner. Total and permanent disablement could be added to enhance benefit as an optional rider.
Personal Accident: This plan is a conventional contract under which the sum insured is payable in case of accidental death or permanent total disability. The sum insured is paid in a lump sum payment.
3.What additional feature/ features does NGI life insurance bring to the market?
The people at large need to be considered, as they are the potential policy owners of the future. Any adverse publicity or media comments can influence them against a company, as can the actions of the company itself in certain circumstances. The reason for the success of our plans was that we recognized that the needs of the people were changing .NGI has developed the Universal Life plan for the UAE market that provides both protection, total flexibility and complete security for the people. Also with rising prices, inflation there is a need for more protection, financial stability and peace of mind.
A secure investment is guaranteed presently with minimum 3% in additional to capital. Our plans even offer the possibility of additional benefits such as- Option to enhance the plan through the lump sum payments and unscheduled premium at the beginning of the term with 95% of the amount invested.
Our savings plan offers the possibility for a loan amount up to 95% of the cash value even with a partial withdrawal from the same value
4. Traditionally, mostly Asians and Europeans have been the mainstay of Life Insurance business in the UAE. How has NGI attracted these communities? What success have you had in selling life policies to Arabs and UAE nationals?
For many different reasons the expatriates consider the life assurance policy a priority for those with dependants and responsibilities. They came from different countries to work hard to secure and brighten the future for those who rely on them, as they are the main breadwinners.
Life insurance products are principally concerned with providing income for the living and possible reasonable level or retirement income or to provide income for the loved ones in the event of death or disability. We found the best possible solution for expatriates to accumulate funds and to protect themselves accordingly. Our study and observation show that expatriates give priority to their future and are always keen to invest.
We at National General Insurance recognized this fact and designed our plans to take utmost care possible especially in case the expatriates decides to leave back to there home countries. Our plans can be used to take care of their dependants and eliminate the financial burdens in case of their untimely death.
We provide complete protection with a minimum 3 % guaranteed interest while investing their contribution in varieties of funds irrespective of the result of those investments. We also recognized from the outset that individuals do not save regularly and if they don't invest wisely over a lifetime as well as the lack enough time to establish the new source of income.
NGI also seeks to protect the UAE Nationals. It has been observed that there is a sharp increase in mortgages and loans as these are easily available from the banks nowadays. As a measure of safeguarding themselves most of the financial institutions have made it mandatory to buy life insurance policy.
5. How is the growth of NGI'S Health insurance portfolio? What is your most popular plan and who are the people buying it?
National General Insurance Company, (PSC) was amongst the first insurance companies to launch the medical insurance product 'HealthNet' way back in 1996.There has been a steady but slow growth in these years due to many factors pertaining the insurance industry especially in the medical insurance sector.
With the Ministry of Health reinforcing the need to recognize the importance of private health sector in providing health services in the country, we see a promising growth in the near future.
NGI HealthNet scheme entails four basic plans-
- Emirates - Treatment any where within the UAE
- Emirates Plus -Treatment anywhere within the UAE, Middle East and the Indian Sub-continent
- International–Treatment worldwide excluding USA, Canada and the Caribbean
- Global plan- Treatment worldwide
All our plans serve specific needs to suit the requirements of individuals, small corporates as well as the large corporate sector. Each plan has different benefits with different annual limits.
These plans are flexible where in the clients are able to personalize their coverage, selecting from a menu of benefits choosing the right insurance for them. Covers range from local area coverage of only in-patient, to full medical care covers including the in-patient, out-patient care and all other medical services that can be accessed in any part of the world. For a majority of the expatiates, the plan that covers Emirates and its neighboring countries is quite popular.
6. How does the NGI Health cover distinguish itself in the market?
When the HealthNet division was established way back in 1996, an extensive planning and market research was carried out giving NGI the ability to deliver both health care insurance as well as health care management services.
HealthNet's advanced healthcare system incorporates the best features of both the private as well as the public healthcare systems from around the world. We offer the UAE residents assured and reliable quality of health insurance.
What sets HealthNet apart is that it is an in-house product with can be tailor made to the individual and the corporate sector requirements. We have in house doctors, underwriters and claim processors who ensure that the claims processed are projected to provide customers with fair and timely settlements.
HealthNet Network has the best healthcare providers throughout the U.A.E. With More than 1,500 doctors, specialized hospitals, laboratories and 224 pharmacies across the U.A.E., the network is updated and expanded monthly.
These operate on a direct billing system whereby the policy holders do not have to pay anything every time they go to a doctor or get a test done. This eliminates the waiting period for claims reimbursement and also simplifies the administration process.
Another distinguishing feature is that NGI offers is the 50% cover on a selected dental treatment to customers through an established Dentist network. This is made possible with aid of HealthNet products at no additional premium. Customers need to only pay 50% of the dental bills to the Dentist.
Management of claims is an issue that has been causing much concern to insurance companies. For the proper management of claims NGI maintains a 24-hotline and encourages the customers to call and get advice on the right course of action. We also have a customer service team who efficiently and effectively handles all the customer inquires related to and provides timely feedbacks thus making sure that our customers are satisfied and well served.
7. Are you satisfied with the growth of Health insurance market in the UAE? What do you think is needed to popularize health insurance?
The growth in health insurance sector in the emirates is promising but slow. This Low take-up in is in part due of a lack of public awareness and familiarity with insurance sector and also due to the lack of governing laws and regulations.
We think by creating awareness about the importance of health care insurance, and making it compulsory with decline of government contributions will help in growth of the industry.
Also, the recent changes in the health care sector provided in the Emirates has resulted in organizations being responsible for their employee's health while previously the health care system was on the government account.
Formation of new legislations for the insurance sector will strengthen the regulatory framework in most of the Middle East countries. With the acceleration of economic reforms and market liberalization measures due will lead to more investments in industry and infrastructure and a higher purchasing power, thus accelerating the demand for insurance.
There are massive expansion plans in the healthcare sector of the UAE. In the last couple of years, millions of dollars have been spent in establishing specialized hospitals and clinics, and expanding existing facilities. The setting up of projects like the Dubai Health care city will create a global healthcare center hub in Dubai again promoting the health care sector.
| 
