Annual health-insurance cost for you and your dependants.
Total annual premium
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Premium before VAT
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VAT at 5%
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Who pays for whom under UAE rules
Health cover is mandatory in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and the rules about who foots the bill are specific. Your employer must provide health insurance for you, the employee, at no cost to you. Dependants are a different story: a spouse, children, and other sponsored family members are usually the responsibility of the resident sponsor, so a family generally pays those premiums itself. This calculator estimates the total annual cost for a household by counting adults and children, applying an indicative per-person premium by plan tier, and adding VAT. It is built for residents budgeting family cover and for anyone comparing what a basic, mid, or premium plan would cost across several people.
The split matters for budgeting. If you are a single employee, your mandatory cover is paid for and your out-of-pocket premium can be zero. The moment you sponsor a spouse or child, you are buying policies yourself, and that is where the family premium in this tool comes from. The employer obligation does not extend to your dependants.
What drives the premium up
Premiums vary enormously, far more than most insurance lines, and this tool uses deliberately simple per-person figures to give you a planning ballpark. As modelled here, a basic plan is about AED 1,200 a person, a mid tier about AED 5,000, and a premium plan about AED 12,000. These are illustrative mid-range figures, not quotes, and real pricing swings with age, medical history, the network of hospitals covered, maternity and dental add-ons, and the insurer. An older adult on a premium network can cost a multiple of a young child on a basic plan. Treat the tier figures as the calculator’s assumptions and get a real quote before committing, because the spread around these numbers is wide.
Costing a family of four on a mid-tier plan
Take a household of two adults and two children on the mid tier. At AED 5,000 a person, four people cost AED 20,000 before tax. The 5 percent VAT the calculator applies adds AED 1,000, for a total annual premium of AED 21,000.
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The VAT and renewal traps
Two things catch people out. First, VAT: the 5 percent standard rate the calculator applies sits on top of the headline premium, so a AED 20,000 quote is really AED 21,000 to budget for. Second, renewal: health premiums tend to rise each year as you and your dependants age, so this year’s figure is not next year’s. A practical tip when comparing plans is to look past the monthly number at the deductibles, co-payments, and the hospital network, because a cheaper premium with a narrow network and high co-pay can cost more in a year you actually use it. The mandatory minimum cover for an employee is set by the relevant health authority in each emirate, so confirm what your plan must include where you live.
Does my employer have to cover my spouse and children?
Generally no. The employer obligation is to cover you, the employee. Sponsoring family members usually means you buy and pay for their policies yourself, which is exactly the household cost this tool estimates. Some generous employers do extend cover to dependants, so check your own contract before assuming you are on the hook.
Why is my real quote so different from the tier figures here?
Because age and network drive pricing far more than tier alone. The per-person figures here are flat planning numbers, but a real insurer prices each person on age, medical declarations, and the chosen hospital network, plus optional maternity or dental cover. Use this tool to set a budget range, then get individual quotes for the actual people on the policy.