Travel insurance for Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates has moved from optional to, increasingly, a visa requirement, so it is worth understanding the rules before you fly into Abu Dhabi. The UAE has been tightening its health-insurance regime, and for visitors the practical points are that a policy may be needed to obtain your visa, and that while Abu Dhabi's hospitals are excellent, visitors pay for the care they receive.
Insurance and your visa
The UAE has been extending mandatory health insurance across all seven emirates, and the requirement has been broadening to cover visit and tourist visas as well as residence visas. Immigration authorities will not approve a visa without proof of a valid policy where the rule applies, and Abu Dhabi in particular runs its own health-insurance law with defined minimum cover. Because the rules have been changing, confirm the current requirement for your visa type and nationality before you apply, and buy a policy that runs for your whole stay.
Medical care in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi has some of the best hospitals in the region, with modern facilities and international standards. The issue for visitors is cost, not quality: without cover, treatment is paid out of pocket, and private care in the UAE is expensive. A policy that covers emergency treatment, and ideally evacuation and repatriation, means you are treated without a large upfront bill. Keep the insurer's details and your policy number with your travel documents.
Choosing a policy
Treat any mandatory visa insurance as the entry requirement and a comprehensive travel policy as your real protection, covering higher limits, evacuation, repatriation, trip cancellation, and travel beyond the UAE. Read the medical and evacuation limits and the exclusions, and confirm the cover matches your visa's requirement. Subscription-style cover such as SafetyWing suits long or multi-country trips, while a fixed per-trip policy is simpler for a single visit. Buy before you travel, because the visa may depend on it and because most insurers will not cover a trip once it has already started.