Daman accounts for 35% of Emiratis in UAE insurance sector

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business

The National Health Insurance Company-Daman, announced its achievement of 19 per cent Emiratisation within the company. According to the figures presented to the Federal National Council by Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, currently 883 UAE
nationals are employed in the insurance sector in the UAE, which constitutes 11 percent of the sector’s workforce.
Daman currently employs a total of 310 UAE nationals, serving in all areas of the organisation, accounting for 35 per cent of UAE nationals working in insurance. This increase comes despite the challenges of recruiting and retaining Emiratis in the health insurance sector.
The results, which make Daman the top employer in its sector for Emiratisation, represent a central aspect of Daman’s strategic framework targets and are consistent with its leading role in the health insurance sector. The figures align with the UAE government’s vision in this regard, and to enhance Emiratisation through providing career opportunities to attract UAE nationals.
A long-term retention plan has allowed Daman to maintain a steadily increasing rate of Emiratisation. Daman, the largest health insurer in the UAE, has consecutively met its annual Emiratisation targets.
“We are very happy to note that our efforts towards increasing the number of UAE nationals working at Daman are yielding significant results. We firmly support the government’s vision and through our programmes and initiatives, are on track to increase the number further,” said Dr Michael Bitzer, CEO, National Health Insurance Company – Daman. In 2010, the number of Emirati nationals employed by Daman stood at 7.5 per cent. By 2016, this figure had steadily increased to 19 per cent.
Dr. Nawal Khalid, Director of Human Resources Management at Daman, said: “In 2010, the company implemented a roadmap to strengthen the presence of qualified Emiratis in the health insurance sector. Our mission is to actively prepare UAE
nationals to lead the industry by providing best-in-class professional development programmes”.
Dr. Nawal stressed that Daman has succeeded in attracting many UAE nationals, despite the limited number of specialists in the fields of medicine, health economics and health insurance.
The company has developed a number of solutions and initiatives to overcome recruitment and retention challenges, including the launch of several training programmes that enhance specialist skill sets.
The company also ensures a quick response rate for jobseekers, and is committed to providing employment opportunities for the advancement of women.
Dr Nawal also noted that these plans do not focus merely on quantity, but also quality, since Daman’s objective is to ensure that employees at every level have the technical skills required of the sector.
She said: “Daman has adopted a policy aimed at Emiratising every unit, and has already succeeded in attracting and appointing Emiratis to key roles. Most notably, these include Chief Financial Officer, Chief Process Officer, and various department managers, such as projects, information technology, and facilities management”.
Affirming that its Emiratisation strategy revolves around three main areas — attracting, retaining, and training UAE nationals — Daman has contributed to developing and strengthening their appointment throughout the company.
In accordance with Emiratisation policies, Daman collaborates with government agencies to attract qualified individuals into the health sector, and invests in their training at foreign institutions in order to capitalise on their expertise.
These programmes aim to prepare youth for work in the technical, financial, legal, and advanced administrative areas of the health insurance business.
A recent initiative allows professional Emiratis staff to obtain an Advanced Diploma in Insurance (ACII) from the Chartered
Insurance Institute, sponsored by the Insurance Authority. Daman staff also have the opportunity to participate in employment exchanges with Munich-Re, a strategic partner in Germany, among other development programmes.
Daman also undertakes initiatives with the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi and other educational and governmental institutions both in the UAE and internationally, to train and recruit more UAE nationals.