Insurance scheme

Question:

As salaamu alaikum,

Respected Mufti Waseem

I have a question with regards to health insurance. My husband has a policy from an insurance company for which his company pays half and the other half comes out of his salary every month, he also wants me to join at no extra cost to him and attempts to explain to me that we won’t be spending more than we are receiving. His company pays $300.00 and he pays $300.00 as well every month and within the past four years he has not really used his allowance so he thought since i go to the doctor regularly that at least i would benefit from it. Is it permissible to make use of what he has already paid and stay within the $600 per month from now on or is it not permissible altogether?

There are alot of muslims i know tell me that we can do it but i need to know from you as me and my husband were Darul Uloom students and we respect your opinion more than anyone else’s.

I look forward to your reply soon Insha Allah and May Allah bless you and all the staff of the Darul Uloom for your efforts. Amen


Answer:

Wa Alaikum As Salaam,

Seeing that your husband is already in this insurance scheme and monies have been paid already, it will be permissible to use what has been paid already. All the monies that have been paid are halal money because this comes from your husband and his company. The excess which will be paid by the Insurance Company will not be permissible to use, since this is an increase which is above that which was paid by your husband and the company (and it was not an investment that brought a profit). This means that if you or your husband is making a claim for money from the insurance, it will be limited to the total amount that was paid (by your husband and the company). This means that if the total amount paid -up over the past four years adds to approx. $28,000.00, then you can make a claim or make several claims for this amount. So you can make a claim on all the monies that were paid, not only the current monthly payment.

If the payment continues on a monthly basis, then it means that the amount available for your use will continue to increase as long as you do not make claims. If you have made a claim or claims, then the amount you have collected will be subtracted from the total paid amount, and the remainder will be the amount that you can make a claim on, (for the future).

And Allah knows best,
Mufti Waseem Khan.