UAE, Gulf employers will find it hard cutting group medical insurance costs

UAE, Gulf employers will find it hard cutting group medical insurance costs

Dubai: Will UAE and Gulf employers drop more benefits from their group medical insurance as inflationary costs start to bite deeper? At the start of this year, some businesses did offset higher costs by trying to pay lower on their annual group insurance costs. It’s a strategy laden with risk as employers keep battling to retain key talent – and not have to lose them to competition willing to pay more and do better on incentives. “Insurance buyers will already be aware of the need for careful cost management, as workplaces feel the effect of general inflation on businesses and employees,” said Julio Garcia-Villalon, Benefits Leader in Middle East and Africa at Mercer Marsh. “They will also need to ask careful questions of insurers to understand the full extent of aspects of coverage such as mental health support and digital innovation.” Managing this can be quite a balancing act. Through recent years, group medical insurance covers have seen the individuals having to pay up to 20 per cent on a co-payment basis. And they also find that their latest insurance cover no longer allows them to seek consultation or treatment at their regular hospital or clinic. Employers elsewhere in the