UAE

The Central Bank of the UAE's Insurance Company Licensing Regulation (Circular 4/2026), in force from August 14, 2026, replaces the 2009 Insurance Authority rules, treats foreign insurers as branch applicants only, sets 60-business-day application and decision windows and lets the regulator remove senior managers and board members.

The one-year grace period under Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 closed on September 16, and a law-firm newsletter reports the central bank granted no blanket extension; fines can reach AED 1 billion.

The Central Bank of the UAE's September Quarterly Economic Review forecasts 1.6% growth in 2026 and 10.4% in 2027, while second-quarter bank assets reached AED 5,594 billion and first-half insurance premiums rose 11.0%.

In December 2025 Al Wathba Insurance invested in Cell 27 of Lloyd's London Bridge 2 protected cell company, becoming the first UAE-based insurer to access the Lloyd's market this way, with returns expected from an underlying portfolio of more than $100 million of global property and casualty premium from financial year 2026.

UAE insurers wrote Dh74.8 billion of gross premiums in 2025, up 14.9%, with health up 16.3% to Dh30 billion and profit rising to Dh4 billion from Dh2.6 billion, and the central bank's June 2026 review reported premiums growing about 15.1% in the first quarter of 2026 to roughly Dh27.5 billion.

Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 consolidated UAE banking and insurance regulation under the Central Bank, widened the regulatory perimeter to technology platforms and gave regulated firms a one-year transition ending in mid-September 2026.

Central Bank of the UAE data reported by Khaleej Times shows gross written premiums of Dh74.8 billion in 2025, up 14.9%, with health premiums of about Dh30 billion (up 16.3%), industry profit of Dh4 billion and a solvency ratio of 199%; mandatory basic health insurance for private-sector employees and domestic workers took effect across the emirates on January 1, 2025.

Insurance Business (June 15, 2026) reports that war-risk premiums rose from about 0.1% to around 1% per S&P Global, that hundreds of ships remain stranded, and that insurers want evidence a US-Iran deal is holding before pricing normalises.

Alpen Capital's GCC Insurance Industry report, covered by Khaleej Times on May 21, 2026, forecasts premiums of $61.8 billion by 2030 at a 4.9% CAGR, with Saudi Arabia growing at 5.9% and the UAE at 4.1%.

Khaleej Times reports the UAE health and medical insurance segment is projected at about $10.11 billion in 2026 and $15.04 billion by 2031, while Gulf News details the Dh320 basic employer-funded cover for private-sector and domestic workers that began on January 1, 2025.