ABU DHABI: The Abu Dhabi-headquartered Burjeel Holdings has taken a tougher stance on insurers over payment delays, with chairman and CEO Dr Shamsheer Vayalil warning against what he described as “arm-twisting” by insurance companies as the healthcare group's trade receivables rose sharply in the first half of 2026.
The company reported a AED137 million increase in net trade receivables during the six months ended June, with total accounts receivable and prepayments rising by AED185 million to AED2.67 billion.
Burjeel attributed the increase in net trade receivables primarily to a technical payment delay by one of the largest Abu Dhabi insurers, saying the issue was being resolved.
The issue assumed greater significance during the company's results call, where the increase in receivables came up for discussion. Shamsheer said the company was taking steps to resolve the issue and indicated that the matter had been taken up at the regulatory level, including with the healthcare regulator and the Central Bank of the UAE.
He also made clear that Burjeel would not accept what he described as “arm-twisting” by insurance companies, whoever they may be.
The receivables issue comes despite a strong improvement in Burjeel's operating cash generation. Operating cash flow rose 76.8 per cent year-on-year to AED405 million in H1 2026, while revenue increased 4.4 per cent to AED2.79 billion and net profit excluding one-offs almost doubled to AED227 million.
Large unimpaired trade receivables
The size and ageing of the receivables nevertheless underline why collections have become a management priority. Burjeel's financial statements show AED2.19 billion of unimpaired trade receivables at June-end, of which around AED1.08 billion was more than 90 days old. Trade and unbilled receivables mainly comprise amounts due from insurance companies for healthcare services.
Burjeel's own investor material shows that trade receivable days had risen from 111 days in 2023 to 123 days in 2024 and 135 days in 2025, against a stated payment cycle of 30–45 days after submission of a complete and accurate claim.
The company has been investing in centralised and AI-enabled claims management to improve submission, denial management, resubmission and reconciliation. Its stated objective is to bring working-capital performance back under control.
For Burjeel, therefore, the issue is not simply whether the insurer involved eventually pays. The larger question is how quickly a hospital group can convert revenue booked from insured patients into cash — and how much bargaining power insurers have over that process.
