Expats caught up in the current Middle East conflict are raising enquiries about mental health support, accident and repatriation cover and even life insurance.
Over the weekend, the US and Israel launched military strikes against Iran. Iran has since retaliated hitting targets including expat hubs across the Middle East, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Yesterday, Health & Protection reported on how the current conflict is causing concern among expats and their families alike, with most expats in Dubai just wanting to know if they are covered.
But international private medical insurance (IPMI) and assistance providers are responding to customer enquiries about flights, disruptions to care and prescriptions to ensure they and their families can continue to be supported.
Life insurance enquiries
William Cooper, director of William Russell, told Health & Protection most of the provider’s enquiries from the UAE have come from its largest concentration of members in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
“Most are about operational matters with our TPA, Nextcare, but we’ve had some enquiries about life insurance coverage in the event of war,” Cooper said.
“One interesting thing is that we’ve seen huge take up in Solace Secure, which is one of the constituent services of Elevate, our membership proposition.
“The Solace Secure app is literally designed for this type of uncertain situation, giving members real-time security and safety alerts.”
Mental health and cover concerns
Dubai-based adviser Diana Haydar Karam, director – direct sales at Nasco (pictured), revealed employers have been asking for additional support on mental health.
“This includes employee assistance programmes (EAPs) for their employees as well as questions about cover for passive war accidents and repatriation cover,“ Haydar said.
“IPMI companies have already shared their emergency and EAP support. Nasco has also offered a webinar in this regard to all our clients and we are addressing their specific needs as well in a timely manner.”
But Haydar adds the reaction to current events appears to differ depending on whether they are expats or locals.
“People in the UAE have full trust in their government; so we are all sure that authorities are doing their best to prevent escalation and casualties,“ she said.
“Schools and work are from home and the airport has minimal activity; so things are definitely slow, but we don’t feel in a panic mode.
“Expats coming from stable countries such as Europe, USA and the UK are more affected than those coming from war zone countries as it might be their first experience; however I also don’t see a panic mode as they also trust the authorities here.”
Reassurance wanted
But expats as far west as Europe are also at risk of being caught up in the conflict as Iranian and other forces have targeted British bases in Cyprus since the weekend.
Victor Ioannides, managing director at Cyprus-based Nicos Rossos, told Health & Protection his clients just want reassurance that their services are uninterrupted and his firm remains at their disposal with anything they may need.
“We ensure that should they need treatment, urgent or not, we are here to assist them with anything they may need,” Ioannides explained.
“The advice we have from insurers is that nothing has changed in terms of their benefits and that they should be following official government recommendations.”
Cyprus likely evacuation hub
In terms of how Cyprus has been affected, Ioannides said: “That is where the one drone landed which caused minimal damage and no injuries, thankfully.
“Cyprus is not part of this war and should not be a target. However, things change and/or things can sometimes go wrong as accidents can happen. Hence there has been an alert from the authorities, as well as the arrival of Greek, French, German and UK navy and air force to ensure no further issues, or at least defend in case.”
Consequently, Ioannides maintained that most expats and locals are currently not really affected, other than the general concern or anxiousness.
“If you have to choose a specific group of expats, that would probably have to be Israelis living in Cyprus,” he continued.
“A couple of schools and other places they tend to gather at are of course or higher alert and on constant patrol.”
But he added that Cyprus could act as the location expats from the Middle East evacuate to when tensions rise.
“So we expect many expats to be evacuated here, from the Gulf – and the government is preparing for this. This hasn’t yet happened, but it probably will,” he concluded.