New domestic worker insurance plan launched in U.A.E

The Ministry of Interior launched on Tuesday a new initiative — an insurance rights document for domestic workers — in a joint press conference by the Ministry of Interior and AXA Green Crescent, the initiative’s strategic partner.

This move comes in line with the announcement by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of 2017 being the year of giving.

The initiative aims at supporting individuals and private sector companies sponsoring domestic workers to promote social responsibility, perform their roles in serving the country and contribute to the development of the country.

An official source in AXA Green Crescent told Gulf News that this document is completely different from the health insurance policy imposed by the residency laws and regulations for domestic workers and only covers matters not related to those covered by the health insurance, such as covering expenses of transporting bodies of deceased domestic workers or sponsored individuals to his or her home country or covering travel expenses of domestic workers who are not medically fit or those who do not fulfil medical tests prior to issuing of residency, or covering costs of domestic workers who flee or run away from their sponsors.

Brigadier Dr Rashid Sultan Al Khadr, spokesman for Naturalisation and Residency Affairs at the Ministry of Interior, said “that the ministry has partnered with AXA Green Crescent to design and provide the necessary service for residents in the United Arab Emirates, after screening and selection process, aimed at determining the implementation of the initiative in line with the ministry’s strategy in strengthening and enhancing their plans to please customers.Brig Al Khadr added that the document on ensuring domestic workers’ rights is not mandatory for UAE nationals and residents sponsoring individuals or domestic workers.

The annual premium of the insurance policy for domestic workers starts from Dh100 and covers three cases of running away, failing to pass medical tests upon issuing of residency and covering travel and transport expenses if the domestic worker dies.

The company will act on behalf of the sponsor and finish all the necessary procedures and will pay Dh5,000 to the sponsor if the domestic worker dies or is medically unfit and will cover the travel expenses if the domestic worker flees from the sponsor.

The insurance policy covers maids, drivers and domestic workers sponsored by citizens and residents aged between 18 and 64.

The insurance holder can pay an additional Dh100 for additional benefits of optional compensation for domestic workers, and based on that additional benefit in case of the death of a domestic worker, the company will pay Dh50,000 to the respective individuals during the insurance period.

AXA Green Crescent expects 10 per cent of domestic workers sponsored by citizens and residents to enrol in the insurance policy.

Indian Passport rules liberalized

    In order to streamline, liberalise and ease the process of issue of passport, Indian Ministry of External Affairs has taken a number of steps in the realm of passport policy which is expected to benefit the citizens of India applying for a passport. The details of these steps are given below: -

    PROOF OF DATE OF BIRTH

    As per the extant statutory provisions of the Passport Rules, 1980, all the applicants born on or after 26/01/1989, in order to get a passport, had to, hitherto, mandatorily submit the Birth Certificate as the proof of Date of Birth (DOB). It has now been decided that all applicants of passports can submit any one of the following documents as the proof of DOB while submitting the passport application:

    (i) Birth Certificate (BC) issued by the Registrar of Births & Deaths or the Municipal Corporation or any other prescribed authority whosoever has been empowered under the Registration of Birth & Deaths Act, 1969 to register the birth of a child born in India;

    (ii) Transfer/School leaving/Matriculation Certificate issued by the school last attended/recognised educational board containing the DOB of the applicant;

    (iii) PAN Card issued by the Income Tax Department with the DOB of applicant;

    (iv) Aadhar Card/E-Aadhar having the DOB of applicant;

    (v) Copy of the extract of the service record of the applicant (only in respect of Government servants) or the Pay Pension Order (in respect of retired Government Servants), duly attested/certified by the officer/in-charge of the Administration of the concerned Ministry/Department of the applicant, having his DOB;

    (vi) Driving licence issued by the Transport Department of concerned State Government, having the DOB of applicant;

    (vii) Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India having the DOB of applicant;

    (viii) Policy Bond issued by the Public Life Insurance Corporations/Companies having the DOB of the holder of the insurance policy.

    Report of the Inter Ministerial Committee

    A three-member Committee comprising of the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Women and Child Development was constituted to examine various issues pertaining to passport applications where mother/child has insisted that the name of the father should not be mentioned in the passport and also relate to passport issues to children with single parent and to adopted children. The Report of the Committee has been accepted by the Minister of External Affairs.

    The following policy changes have been made inter-alia on the basis of the recommendations of this Committee:

    (i) The online passport application form now requires the applicant to provide the name of father or mother or legal guardian, i.e., only one parent and not both. This would enable single parents to apply for passports for their children and to also issue passports where the name of either the father or the mother is not required to be printed at the request of the applicant.

    (ii) The total number of Annexes prescribed in the Passport Rule, 1980, has been brought down to 9 from the present 15. Annexes A, C, D, E, J, and K have been removed and certain Annexes have been merged.

    (iii) All the annexes that are required to be given by the applicants would be in the form of a self-declaration on a plain paper. No attestation/swearing by/before any Notary/Executive Magistrate/First Class Judicial Magistrate would be henceforth necessary.

    (iv) Married applicants would not be required to provide Annexure K or any marriage certificate.

    (v) The Passport application form does not require the applicant to provide the name of her/his spouse in case of separated or divorced persons. Such applicants for passports would not be required to provide even the Divorce Decree.

    (vi) Orphaned children who do not have any proof of DOB such as Birth Certificate or the Matriculation Certificate or the declaratory Court order, may now submit a declaration given by the Head of the Orphanage/Child Care Home on their official letterhead of the organisation confirming the DOB of the applicant.

    (vii) In the case of children not born out of wedlock, the applicant for the passport of such children should submit only Annexure G while submitting the passport application.

    (viii) In the case of issue of passport to in-country domestically adopted children, submission of the registered adoption deed would no longer be required. In the absence of any deed to this effect, the passport applicant may give a declaration on a plain paper confirming the adoption.

    (ix) Government servants, who are not able to obtain the Identity Certificate (Annexure-B)/ No-Objection Certificate (Annexure-M) from their concerned employer and intend to get the passport on urgent basis can now get the passport by submitting a self-declaration in Annexure-‘N’ that he/she has given prior Intimation letter to his/her employer informing that he/she was applying for an ordinary passport to a Passport Issuing Authority.

    (x) Sadhus/ Sanyasis can apply for a passport with the name of their spiritual Guru mentioned in the passport application in lieu of their biological parent(s) name(s) subject to their providing of at least one public document such as Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India, PAN card, Adhar Card, etc wherein the name of the Guru has been recorded against the column(s) for parent(s) name(s).

    Necessary notifications would be soon published in the Official Gazette to give effect to these changes. Instructions are also being issued to the Passport Issuing Authorities in India and abroad on these revised regulations.

    The Ministry of External Affairs expects that the above changes in the Passport Rules would further ease the process for passport applicants in getting their Passport. At the same time, it would enable this Ministry to continue to deliver passport related services to the citizens in a timely, transparent, more accessible, reliable manner and in a comfortable environment through streamlined processes and committed, trained and motivated workforce.

Independent Execution Court established in Dubai

Dubai Courts have announced the establishment of an independent Execution Court to improve the efficiency of the judicial system, it was announced on Tuesday.

The establishment comes under Resolution No (8) of 2016 issued by Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Judicial Council.

Under the resolution, Judge Abdullah Ahmad Ali Al Kaitoob is appointed the head of the new Execution Court which serves as a significant addition to existing specialised courts which include the Civil, Labour, Real Estate, Commercial, Criminal and Personal Status courts.

The move comes in response to the growing need for an independent court to address the increasing number of execution cases.

Tarish Eid Al Mansouri, director general of Dubai Courts, explained that the introduction of the Execution Court is significant for the development of the judicial industry as it serves as a cornerstone for enhancing the UAE’s position in the World Bank’s annual Global Competitiveness Report by expediting verdicts on execution cases.

He said that this move lays a solid foundation for improving execution durations which is one of the main challenges in contract execution and an issue that made Dubai Courts rank 144th in the 2015 Report.

He emphasised that a specialised court for executions will play a pivotal role in achieving the ambitious vision of creating “pioneering and internationally distinguished courts” capable of completing cases swiftly. He added that the move will positively impact local and global confidence in the legal and judicial system.

“We seek to activate the institutional role of the Execution Court through the development of an independent strategic plan that is closely linked to the goals of the Strategic Document 2016-2019 which ensures that justice is served accurately and swiftly, providing easy access to judicial services and upholding the values of justice, independence, transparency and innovation,” he said.

“We welcome the establishment of the Execution Court which will help measure the strategic performance indicators of execution cases included in the Strategic Document 2016-2019 accurately and efficiently. It will help us sustain our success in strengthening the judicial system based on the pillars of neutrality, impartiality, transparency, justice and equality to consolidate the global leadership of Dubai.”

The establishment of the Execution Court paves the way for the development of an independent strategy for execution cases, similar to other specialised courts of the first instance, that preserves the influential role of managing execution cases in a manner that embodies Dubai Courts’ goal of effectively dispensing justice. The new court will adhere to a comprehensive operational plan that includes various quality initiatives and programmes for improving the implementation of provisions

No more extensions for health insurance in Dubai, Employers, sponsors will face penalties

Employers and sponsors who have not yet purchased health insurance for their employees and their dependents, respectively, will have to start paying penalties from the end of this year, with no further extensions to be given, a top Dubai Health Authority (DHA) official has said.

Since the roll-out of the Dubai Health Authority’s (DHA) mandatory health insurance scheme, which is in line with the Health Insurance Law No. 11 of 2013, all Dubai visa holders must have had access to medical insurance by June 30, 2016, but 12 per cent of the population have still not been covered, said Dr Haidar Al Yousuf, Director of Health Funding at DHA

“There will be no more extensions given as the deadline was actually in June 2016. Those who haven’t purchased a health insurance for their employees and dependents are in violation of the law. What was extended earlier was only the deadline on penalties, but by the end of this year, the fines will become active,” he said.

Up to date, he said, 88 per cent of the target population in Dubai, almost 3.5 million people, are already benefiting from the mandatory health insurance. “Over the next month, the remaining 12 per cent need to have the insurance or their employees or sponsors will be liable to penalties after that.”

Dr Yousuf was speaking on the sidelines of the 3rd annual health insurance congress held in Dubai on Thursday, which was held under the theme of ‘Innovation and Sustainability’ and which addressed the tremendous opportunities as well as challenges that await Dubai ahead of the final systemic implementation of the mandatory health insurance.

“People need to start thinking [in the right way], because the fines are more expensive than the cost of insurance itself. The fine is Dh500 per month per employer, and the basic benefit package starts from Dh550 person per year. It makes more sense to purchase that insurance as it protects not only the employee but also the employer,” Dr Yousuf said.

The law mandates health insurance for everyone, the responsibility for providing the insurance lays with the employers first, and for those who don’t have employers, it lays with the sponsor. The law also mandates tools that ensure people do get the health insurance, so it became linked to the residency visa process. The law also prohibits the employer or sponsor from deducting the amount of premium money from the salary of the employee. It is illegal by law and punishable, he explained.

Speaking further about the ‘dependents’ category, making up one million of the population, which includes spouses, children and domestic workers such as houseboys, maids and nannies, he said it is the responsibility of the employee himself if his employer doesn’t provide insurance to his dependents to purchase insurance for them. Only less than 30 per cent of dependents of employees are currently covered by companies.

“The government has ensured that there are affordable packages in the market, starting from Dh600. With around Dh2,000, the dependents can all be insured. It is an affordable amount. The essential benefit plan covers doctors’ visits, referral to specialists, surgical operations, maternity, emergency services, investigations, medication and all benefits required.”

There have been lots of cases where uninsured dependents have fallen sick and required to pay huge bills, he said.

“We have seen many cases where people had a housemaid without a health insurance who suddenly fell sick and her hospital bill went up to Dh60,000, which they had to pay. Recently, we had seen a case with an Emirati family whose housemaid went into the intensive care unit (ICU) and had a very complicated case. Their total bill was Dh165,000 and it was fully covered by insurance. He only paid Dh500 as the deductible,” he said.

The law was designed to make sure the entire system is sustainable and no one party falls short of cash as result of having to pay for health care, he added.

In regards to utilising innovation in the health insurance sector, Dr Yousuf said the DHA has electronic systems that work to ensure people are protected, have access to their health care package and understand how to use it.

“We have specifically designed a complaints portal called iPROMeS, where any person who is not satisfied with the services provided by the insurance company can reach us directly.”

Also, Dr Yousuf advised people to have a look at the packages from all insurance companies licensed by DHA through www.isahd.ae and choose their best options.

The congress was hosted by Gulf Medical University (GMU), which is owned and run by Thumbay Group, in association with Aafia Medical Billing Services. The event was presided by chief guest Shaikh Mohammad Maktoum Juma Al Maktoum, Chairman of MBM Groups, and attended by industry leaders and policymakers representing the government, and health care industry including insurance providers and hospitals.

Dr Yousuf addressed delegates advising them to focus on the dependents category in the market and to appeal to them and provide them with cost-effective packages that deliver good quality of care to people.