Life protection plan for Indian blue-collar workers unveiled in the UAE

Dubai: India's consulate in Dubai has unveiled a new insurance package for blue-collar Indian workers to provide financial benefits to the kin of the deceased in case of natural and accidental deaths.

The Consulate General of India in Dubai facilitated meetings between major companies recruiting Indian blue-collar workers and insurance service providers to arrive at a package which could cover natural and accidental deaths of the workers in the UAE, a press release said on Tuesday.

The move came after it was "noticed that most companies are insuring their employees under Health Insurance and Workers' Compensation [work-related injuries & deaths]." "However, there is no mandatory insurance coverage for the natural death of employees, and hence the legal heirs/dependents of the deceased do not receive any compensation in cases of natural death," it said.

Insurance providers Gargash Insurance Services LLC and Orient Insurance PJSC agreed to issue a Life Protection Plan (LPP) for blue-collar workers and other employees covering death due to any cause -- natural or accidental. The LPP is effective from March 1. The terms and conditions on how the plan will be implemented were worked out between the companies and the insurance service providers, the press release said.

On the launch of the LPP, Consul General Satish Sivan said, “Welfare of the Indian community remains our utmost priority." "Keeping in view the large number of natural death cases of workers in a year and to provide some financial benefits to the family of the deceased in the event of natural death, Consulate General of India, Dubai, encourages all Companies to consider subscription to the Life Protection Plan [LPP] that is available at a minimal premium of AED 37 per annum," he said.

Around 3.5 million Indians reside in the UAE, of which about 65 per cent are blue-collar workers, who form one of the largest groups of migrant workers in the UAE. In 2022, the consulate registered a total of 1,750 death cases, of which around 1,100 were workers. Last year, about 1,000 deaths were recorded for workers from the total count of 1,513. "It has been observed that in more than 90 per cent of the cases, the cause of death is natural," the press release said.