Medical Insurance
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Fatwa No. ( 19399 )
Q: Some institutions and private companies cover the medical treatment
of their employees and their families. To this end, they agree with some private hospitals to secure this treatment. The agreement is as follows: 1. The institution pays the hospital a monthly amount of 100 riyals only for each person, regardless of the number of visits the patient makes to the hospital for treatment. 2. The hospital is responsible for treating the individuals, dispensing the necessary medications, and performing some surgical operations if necessary. It is known that in some months, the hospital spends more than 100 riyals on a person's treatment, especially if a surgical operation or similar procedure is performed. At other times, the person may not come to the hospital because he does not need it, and thus he has not consumed anything of the 100 riyals, or has consumed only a small part of it. The question is: First: Is this medical insurance permissible in the Shari'ah, or is it one of the conditions based on ignorance and gharar (excessive uncertainty in a contract)? Second: Does this fall under the category of ja'iz (permissible) ju'alah (reward for a specific task), as some researchers stated in (Journal of Contemporary Fiqh Research), Issue 31?
Third: What is the form of the permissible cooperative medical insurance in the Shari'ah?
A: What was mentioned in the question is of the forbidden commercial insurance; because of the gharar (excessive uncertainty in a contract) and ignorance in it, and the consumption of people's wealth without right. The permissible cooperative insurance is: that a fund is established in which the donations of the benevolent are collected to help those in need of treatment or otherwise, and no financial profit returns to the donor, but rather the intention is to help those in need, seeking reward and recompense from Allah the Exalted.
Q: Some institutions and private companies cover the medical treatment
of their employees and their families. To this end, they agree with some private hospitals to secure this treatment. The agreement is as follows: 1. The institution pays the hospital a monthly amount of 100 riyals only for each person, regardless of the number of visits the patient makes to the hospital for treatment. 2. The hospital is responsible for treating the individuals, dispensing the necessary medications, and performing some surgical operations if necessary. It is known that in some months, the hospital spends more than 100 riyals on a person's treatment, especially if a surgical operation or similar procedure is performed. At other times, the person may not come to the hospital because he does not need it, and thus he has not consumed anything of the 100 riyals, or has consumed only a small part of it. The question is: First: Is this medical insurance permissible in the Shari'ah, or is it one of the conditions based on ignorance and gharar (excessive uncertainty in a contract)? Second: Does this fall under the category of ja'iz (permissible) ju'alah (reward for a specific task), as some researchers stated in (Journal of Contemporary Fiqh Research), Issue 31?
Third: What is the form of the permissible cooperative medical insurance in the Shari'ah?
A: What was mentioned in the question is of the forbidden commercial insurance; because of the gharar (excessive uncertainty in a contract) and ignorance in it, and the consumption of people's wealth without right. The permissible cooperative insurance is: that a fund is established in which the donations of the benevolent are collected to help those in need of treatment or otherwise, and no financial profit returns to the donor, but rather the intention is to help those in need, seeking reward and recompense from Allah the Exalted.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.