National Health Insurance Company - Daman, ready to enroll members in the new health insurance scheme

Daman has already begun to meet with many organizations in Abu Dhabi as they prepare for the new Health Insurance Law Requirements. The recently approved Health Insurance By Laws for Law No. 23 - 2005 issued by President H. H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan making it compulsory for employers and business owners in Abu Dhabi to provide health insurance coverage for their expatriate employees and their families was approved and announced early June by the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi.

Phase I of the law will require all Abu Dhabi Government, Semi Government and large organizations with more than 1000 employees to provide health insurance coverage for the employee, the employee's spouse and up to 3 dependents under the age of 18 years by July 1st, 2006. This will impact approximately 250 organizations in Abu Dhabi during the Phase I. Daman has begun to meet with these organizations to introduce the various insurance products that have been developed and providing them with the necessary requirements to start the process. The second phase, which will be in effect during January, 2007 will require all expatriates to be insured.

National Health Insurance Company - Daman, is the first specialized national health insurance company to be formed in the UAE. Daman was established on September 26, 2005 by Executive Decree Number 39 - 2005. This venture represented a milestone in the history of health care for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Munich Re was named the strategic partner of Daman. Munich Re is the world's leading reinsurers with an excellent reputation and outstanding financial strength. Munich Re has superior competencies in the primary health insurance and reinsurance business. Among one of the Munich Re subsidiaries is DKV, the largest European health insurer with more than 3 million insured members.

Recent Activities that lead to the successful establishment of Daman

Dr. Michael Bitzer, CEO of Daman stated that over the last several months, the start up team of Daman was successful in establishing the organization to handle the large number of potential insured members for its Basic Abu Dhabi Plan and the other technical products that have been developed.

On June 13, 2006 and June 17th, 2006 Daman held meetings with the Public and the Private Health Care Providers in the Daman Network. Daman meets frequently with providers in Abu Dhabi and throughout the UAE to establish the interfaces and cooperation between the organizations that will ensure a smooth transition for the implementation of the new health insurance scheme.

Dr. Michael Bitzer stressed the importance of working closely with the public and private health care providers in developing a successful health insurance scheme in Abu Dhabi. "The Daman management team recognized the importance of collaboration with the health care providers. The insurance scheme established by the government will require the full cooperation of all the organizations within the health care industry and the outcome will lead to a positive overall improvement in the health care system for everyone."

Other activities that were implemented during the project phase include the set up of the following:

• the largest call center - customer service department of any health insurer in the region
• high capacity card and membership production capabilities for efficiency and accuracy (Capability to produce more than 100,000 membership cards per month)
• remote production offices in Al Ain, Madinat Zayed and Musafah to expedite production and offer convenience to clients
• large In-House Claims Processing Department (70 staff) with centralized claims receiving, coding and evaluation and claims processing
• 24/7 access for medical authorizations that use sophisticated software - fast and reliable approvals based on fixed guidelines linked to policies
• A large regional provider network

Daman established to provide the Basic Product and other Technical Products

Daman is currently the only Health Insurance Company approved by the GAHS to offer the basic product Daman called the 'Abu Dhabi Plan'.
A few general guidelines of the plan include:

• The Abu Dhabi Plan is applicable to Employees based in Abu Dhabi
• The Plan is applicable to employees earning:
• AED 3000/month plus accommodation
• Less than AED 4000/month (gross)
• The Abu Dhabi Plan provides access to Abu Dhabi Government Health Care Facilities and selected private

All health insurance products offered in Abu Dhabi must meet the minimum requirements and standards established for the Abu Dhabi Plan as stated in the recently approved Health Insurance By- Laws/Code of Regulations for Law No. 23 - 2005

Daman will also offer the following technical products that include additional benefits, higher policy limits and an expanded geographical coverage, they are the:

• UAE Plan
• Regional Plan
• International Plan
• Global Plan

Currently, Daman employs nearly 200 staff and expects to reach 300 staff by the end of the year. The recruitment of Nationals has also been a success at Daman, which has a current Emiratization Rate of 10%.