Takaful for blue collar workers in UAE launched

A new Islamic insurance (takaful) plan for lower income workers has been launched in the UAE with premium as low as Dh510. Minimum entry age is 18 years old and maximum entry age is 65 years old. The plan is available only to manual workers and is not available to office workers even at low income. Income eligibility is Dh5,000 or less and/or Dh4,000 or less for workers with company accommodation, said Takaful Emarat, the UAE-headquartered Shariah-compliant life and health insurance company. The four distinct pre-packaged plans are coming with annual limit of Dh100,000, Dh50,000 and Dh25,000 - with a set premium of Dh575, Dh540 and Dh510 per insured /year respectively. In addition, the plan for Abu Dhabi duly approved by HAAD comes with a maximum annual limit of Dh250,000 per person at a set premium of Dh600 per insured / year, the company said in a statement to Emirates 24l7. Ghassan Marrouche, Chief Executive Officer at Takaful Emarat, said: “With this new offering, we are widening our reach to include those who are less fortunate and who are in utmost need of a plan that safeguards their health care needs. We are committed to serving the needs of different sectors of the market. “Based on our in-depth market research, we have designed a plan that covers risks of injury and illness and protects the workers if certain unforeseen circumstances occur. As a takaful operator, we felt that workers’ needs must be addressed in a way where they can not only get quick health care service, low upfront cost but also the easy access to medical facilities in their vicinity, ” Marrouche added. Takaful Emarat’s ‘Sehat Plan’ has especially been created for lower income workers. The plan is bundled with life and disability benefits and is designed for the lower income work force in the UAE.