More and more often, I’m being approached by families who already have an IPMI policy with a similar scenario - They’re relocating from the UK to Dubai. On paper, it all sounds straightforward: the plan is international, the coverage includes UAE, so what could possibly go wrong?
Well… not everything is as simple as it seems.
Let’s review today’s case. The family has an excellent policy with April International: full cover for inpatient, outpatient, cancer, a bit of dental, and a few nice extras. In the UK, this policy costs them just over £9,000 per year for the entire family. And yes - it works perfectly fine in Dubai. They can use it there without any issues. BUT:
The husband needs to apply for UAE residency (Emirates ID) as he’s setting up a business there. And here’s the catch: the Dubai’s GDRFA don’t tend to recognise foreign-issued international policies for visa purposes.
Yep — even if it’s fully international and covers the UAE.
In most scenarios, to be accepted as part of a residency visa application, your policy has to be issued via the local branchof the insurer in Dubai. And local plans come with… well, local rules.
Why? In short: Dubai’s equivalent of our FCA don’t allow insurers to apply many of the exclusions that are perfectly standard here and the UK and in most Europe.
For example, if you buying policy here, insurers might say - “Mr Customer, we are happy to offer you terms, however not for “that” condition you already had before. If you stay symptom-free for 2–5 years, we might reconsider.” In Dubai? Not acceptable aproach. In essence, the regulator says: “Dear insurer, if you want to operate here, either cover it, or factor in the additional risk related to extra costs that might arise from this medical condition in another way.” And how do insurers “factor it in”? Simple. They crank up the price.
So what’s the cost of an almost identical plan from the same insurer, but issued via their Dubai office? £19,000 per year (yes, really.)
Now, you might ask, “Are they out of their minds?” And the answer is — no, they’re not.
April isn’t doing anything unusual here. That’s just how it works across most providers. And to be fair - the difference isn’t just in price.
Dubai-issued plans often function differently too.
On their current UK-issued policy, the family pays the first £2,500 themselves and submits everything for reimbursement. Anything above that threshold gets pre-authorised and paid directly by the insurer.
On the Dubai plan, that system is still in place, BUT there’s also a huge network of clinics and hospitals that bill the insurer directly. Just show your card, and it’s all handled. Far more convenient — but also, significantly more expensive.
And let’s be honest — not everyone, no matter how deep your pockets are, able to justify/willing to pay a premium for this convenience.
So what did we do with the client? I know that a typical broker might have said to them “Just switch the whole family to a Dubai policy and be done with it.”
We sat down with the client and decided what actually matters and what we will do. So the outcome is:
The husband moved to a locally placed IPMI policy in Dubai, because he needed it for his visa.
The wife and kids, who won’t be working in the UAE and still going to spend plenty of time at their London home, stayed on the original policy.
Total cost with this approach? £13,500 per year. Far more sensible — and barely any changes to their cover.
The takeaway?
A plan might be “international” and work globally — but visa requirements are a whole other story, and local regulations can flip everything on its head. That’s where the real job of an international broker begins.
It’s not just about knowing the plans. It’s about knowing how those plans interact with local laws and regulations, and how to build a solution around real-world client needs in specific countries.
So — if you’re relocating to the Emirates (or anywhere else for that matter) and want to know how your policy will work over there — and whether it’ll tick the right boxes for immigration or visa purposes — drop me a message.
Let’s have a chat before you end up paying double or getting a visa refusal because no one told you what actually matters.