<img src="https://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/908fb457-7f8e-4a08-9081-5565e3dfb3d7?size=2" nborder="0" align="left" hspace="5" vspace="5" title="22157.jpg" alt="Company Logo"/>Mandatory coverage, public schemes and long-term policies are expanding, creating opportunities in supplemental plans, digital analytics and chronic-care management amid rising medical costs.Dublin, Aug. 21, 2026 <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com" target="_blank">(GLOBE NEWSWIRE)</a> -- The <a href="https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/6266112/mena-health-medical-insurance-market-share?utm_source=GNE&amp;utm_medium=PressRelease&amp;utm_code=cq7fqr&amp;utm_campaign=2331378+-+MENA+Health+and+Medical+Insurance+2026-2031+-+Expansion+of+Mandatory+Health+Insurance+Schemes+Drives+Market+Growth&amp;utm_exec=clshmsai" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="MENA Health and Medical Insurance - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends &amp; Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)">"MENA Health and Medical Insurance - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends &amp; Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)"</a> has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. MENA Health and Medical Insurance Market Forecast to Reach USD 27.79 Billion by 2031 The MENA health and medical insurance market is projected to expand from USD 18.93 billion in 2025 to USD 20.18 billion in 2026. By 2031, the market is forecast to reach USD 27.79 billion, registering a compound annual growth rate of 6.61% from 2026 to 2031. Growth is being supported by mandatory health insurance programs, expanding public coverage, healthcare privatization, medical inflation and rising demand for long-term insurance policies. Mandatory Health Insurance Schemes Accelerate Market Growth Government mandates remain one of the most significant growth drivers for the MENA health and medical insurance market. In the UAE, Federal Decree-Law No. 48 of 2023 requires residents to hold health insurance from January 2025, potentially adding approximately 3.7 million people to insurer pools. The broader risk base is expected to strengthen premium inflows, improve underwriting capacity and reduce unpaid hospital bills. Saudi Arabia has also expanded health insurance requirements to include approximately 3.7 million domestic workers, effective from July 2024. In Oman, a co-insurance framework introduced in December 2024 enables Category A and Category B insurers to share risk. This approach is expected to increase market capacity and reduce barriers for participating carriers. Across Gulf Cooperation Council countries, stronger solvency requirements are increasing capital expectations for insurers while improving confidence in claims settlement and financial stability. These regulatory developments are creating a more predictable operating environment for insurers, healthcare providers and policyholders. Chronic Diseases and Medical Inflation Increase Insurance Costs Non-communicable diseases are placing sustained pressure on healthcare spending across the region. Diabetes affects more than 20% of adults in Gulf countries, increasing demand for continuous monitoring, specialist consultations and advanced treatment. Spending is also rising due to oncology medicines, cardiac procedures, immunology treatments and other high-cost therapies. Specialty medicines for oncology and immunology can exceed USD 100,000 per patient annually, placing pressure on insurer reserves and reinsurance arrangements. Hospital consolidation in major cities has strengthened provider bargaining power, while currency depreciation in selected markets has increased the cost of imported medical equipment and supplies. Insurers are responding with tiered drug formularies, prior authorization requirements, preferred-provider agreements, bundled payments and value-based contracts. Saudi Arabia's diagnosis-related group payment model and Dubai's eClaimLink platform illustrate efforts to improve cost management and claims efficiency. However, fragmented provider technology systems continue to limit the rapid adoption of these models across the wider MENA region. Preventive healthcare initiatives associated with national development strategies, including Saudi Vision 2030, may deliver long-term savings. In the near term, however, medical-cost inflation is expected to continue affecting premiums, benefits and insurer margins. Private Medical Insurance Maintains Market Leadership Private medical insurance accounted for 65.64% of the MENA market in 2025, supported by employer-sponsored benefits and demand from expatriates and higher-income consumers. Group policies continue to provide scale advantages, while individual plans are attracting middle-class families seeking enhanced maternity, dental and specialist benefits. Public and social-security health insurance schemes are forecast to record the fastest growth, with a projected rate of 7.53%. The UAE's AED 320 annual mandatory premium, equivalent to approximately USD 87.10, is expanding the number of insured residents. Saudi Arabia's planned National Health Insurance Centre is also expected to increase the role of public programs. Egypt's phased insurance expansion is expected to bring an additional 12.8 million citizens into the system, while Morocco's extension of mandatory health insurance to self-employed workers is broadening its contribution base. These developments are supporting a dual market structure in which public programs provide essential coverage and private plans offer supplemental benefits, including elective procedures and international treatment. Long-Term Health Insurance Policies Dominate Premiums Annual and multi-year policies represented 84.02% of premiums and are projected to grow by 8.72%. Demand is supported by consumers seeking uninterrupted healthcare access and insurers pursuing predictable premium income. Multi-year expatriate visas in Gulf markets also align with longer policy durations and help reduce customer turnover. Long-term coverage supports chronic-care programs such as continuous glucose monitoring, oncology case management and wellness coaching. As insurers gain access to more longitudinal health data from digital platforms and wearable devices, renewal pricing and risk assessment are expected to become increasingly precise. Short-term policies will continue to serve medical tourists, seasonal workers and humanitarian organizations, although they are likely to remain a smaller part of the overall MENA health and medical insurance market. Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 1.1 Study Assumptions and Market Definition 1.2 Scope of the Study 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Landscape 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 Market Drivers 4.2.1 Expansion of mandatory health-insurance schemes 4.2.2 Rising NCD-linked medical inflation 4.2.3 Privatization and PPPs in regional healthcare 4.2.4 Cross-border insured medical-tourism boom 4.2.5 Embedded coverage via super-apps and gig-platforms 4.2.6 AI-driven risk scoring unlocking new micro-plans 4.3 Market Restraints 4.3.1 Double-digit medical-cost inflation 4.3.2 Regulatory fragmentation across MENA 4.3.3 Chronic clinical-talent shortages 4.3.4 Geopolitical conflict-zone risk pools 4.4 Value / Supply-Chain Analysis 4.5 Regulatory Landscape 4.6 Technological Outlook 4.7 Porter's Five Forces 4.7.1 Competitive Rivalry 4.7.2 Threat of New Entrants 4.7.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.7.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers 4.7.5 Threat of Substitutes 5 Market Size and Growth Forecasts (Value, USD) 5.1 By Insurance Product Type 5.1.1 Private Medical Insurance (PMI) 5.1.1.1 Individual Policy Coverage 5.1.1.2 Group Policy Coverage 5.1.2 Public / Social Security Schemes 5.2 By Term of Coverage 5.2.1 Short-term (&lt; 12 months) 5.2.2 Long-term (? 12 months) 5.3 By Distribution Channel 5.3.1 Brokers / Agents 5.3.2 Banks (Bancassurance) 5.3.3 Direct-to-Consumer (Online / Phone) 5.3.4 Employer-Sponsored (Companies) 5.3.5 Other Channels (Affinity, Associations) 5.4 By End-user Segment 5.4.1 Individuals 5.4.2 SMEs 5.4.3 Large Corporates 5.5 By Geography 5.5.1 Gulf Cooperation Council (KSA, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman) 5.5.2 North Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) 5.5.3 Levant &amp; Emerging (Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq) 6 Competitive Landscape 6.1 Market Concentration 6.2 Strategic Moves 6.3 Market Share Analysis 6.4 Company Profiles (includes Global level Overview, Market level overview, Core Segments, Financials as available, Strategic Information, Market Rank/Share, Products &amp; Services, Recent Developments) 6.4.1 Bupa Arabia 6.4.2 Tawuniya 6.4.3 Daman - National Health Insurance Co. 6.4.4 MedGulf 6.4.5 Orient Insurance (Sukoon) 6.4.6 GIG Gulf 6.4.7 Qatar Life &amp; Medical (QLM) 6.4.8 AXA Cooperative Egypt 6.4.9 Allianz Saudi Fransi 6.4.10 NAS Neuron Health Services (TPA) 6.4.11 Nextcare (TPA) 6.4.12 GlobeMed Saudi (TPA) 6.4.13 Cigna Middle East 6.4.14 MetLife Gulf 6.4.15 Liva Insurance 6.4.16 Wafa Assurance 6.4.17 Al Rajhi Takaful 6.4.18 Oman Insurance Company 6.4.19 Doha Insurance Group 6.4.20 Solidarity Bahrain 7 Market Opportunities &amp; Future Outlook 7.1 White-space &amp; Unmet-Need Assessment For more information about this report visit <a href="https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/6266112/mena-health-medical-insurance-market-share?utm_source=GNE&amp;utm_medium=PressRelease&amp;utm_code=cq7fqr&amp;utm_campaign=2331378+-+MENA+Health+and+Medical+Insurance+2026-2031+-+Expansion+of+Mandatory+Health+Insurance+Schemes+Drives+Market+Growth&amp;utm_exec=clshmsai" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="">https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6um7xc</a> About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. 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MENA Health and Medical Insurance 2026-2031 - Expansion of Mandatory Health Insurance Schemes Drives Market Growth

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