Following the decision last week by the Public Authority of Manpower (PAM) to renew work permits for expatriate non-graduates aged 60 and over, Director-General of PAM, Ahmed Al-Mousa, has announced that the annual fee for the renewal will be KD250, in addition to a health insurance fee of KD500 per year.
In line with this announcement, the union of insurance companies is slated to hold a meeting over the next two days with PAM to work out the modalities of the automated link between the insurance companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and PAM to issue health insurance policies for this category of expatriates.
Informed sources explained that the new health insurance fee will cover the insured for up to KD10,000 annually, with medical services to be provided by hospitals and clinics in the private sector. However, in the event of critical cases, and if treatment is not available in a particular hospital, the insured will be transferred to other health institutions that provide this service inside Kuwait.
Many smaller companies that employ workers who fall in this category will find the renewal fees and insurance premium to be exorbitantly high, as it will add significantly to the overhead of their operations.
But insurance companies insist that the technical and actuarial determinants and the risk factors surrounding that age group of insured expatriates makes it impossible to lower the premium any further than the set KD500.
