By  Katie Baker _____Reinsurance broker, EC3 Brokers MEA recently announced that Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company has been awarded the DIFC Master Health Insurance Scheme.
The scheme is in partnership with the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA) and becomes effective on 1st October.The purpose of it is to provide cost-effective health insurance for entities operating within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company came out on top following a comprehensive competitive bidding process amongst a number of competing parties.
The scheme plans to provide cost-effective and efficient access to health insurance for employees in the DIFC and their dependants and will specifically support SMEs and start-ups in gaining access to high-level health benefit plans while streamlining their costs.
Due to smaller firms often having some difficulty in accessing group rates from health insurers, they are required to make very detailed disclosures relating to the health and pre-existing conditions of staff for insurers to properly assess and price the risk related to them.
The DIFC Master Health Insurance Scheme is intended to bring the pricing and other benefits usually only afforded to much larger employers.
Steve Hart, SEO of EC3 Brokers MEA, said: “We are delighted with the appointment of Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company as the awarded insurer of the DIFC Master Health Insurance Scheme, and have no doubt that they will excel in providing the highest level of service to all the scheme entities registered within the DIFC. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with ADNIC.”
Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, added: “We welcome the appointment of Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company as partners for the DIFC Master Health Insurance Scheme. The insurance scheme is a first for any free zone in the UAE and we hope it provides our over 2,500 firms and more than 25,000 professionals access to high quality health insurance at streamline rates. Promoting this scheme is yet another way DIFC and Dubai continue to improve ease of doing business and ensure we remain the preferred working and living destination in the region for financial talent and their families.”
Ahmad Idris, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company, further noted: “We are delighted to be appointed as the awarded insurer of the DIFC Master Health Scheme, enabling ADNIC to support the DIFC in its vision to provide cost effective health insurance and a high level of service to its partners.
ADNIC is committed with our core disciplines of service excellence, to serve all DIFC partners. We look forward to repaying that trust by providing an exceptional experience and level of service