ADGM insurance requirements
ADGM's Employment Regulations 2024 require employee health cover. PII duties reach FSRA firms in scope, Third Party Providers and licensed company and tax service providers. We know of no workers' compensation or third party liability term for ordinary companies.
Who runs ADGM?
| Fact | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Emirate | Abu Dhabi | |
| Authority | ADGM Registration Authority. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority regulates financial services firms.12 | |
| Legal basis | Federal Decree No. 15 of 2013 established ADGM as a financial free zone. Abu Dhabi Law No. 4 of 2013 is its founding law.12 | |
| Established | 2013 | |
| Companies | 13,974 active licences and 3,986 operational entities | End of first half of 2026 |
| People | 49,027 across Al Maryah Island and Al Reem Island | End of first half of 2026 |
| Area | 114 hectares | |
| Main sectors | Financial services | |
| Website | www.adgm.com | |
What insurance and guarantees do companies in ADGM need?
Professional indemnity
- If your firm is a domestic firm authorised by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority in Category 3B, 3C or 4 and carries on the regulated activities its rulebook's professional indemnity section names, you must, subject to the rulebook's exceptions, take out and maintain professional indemnity insurance suited to the nature, size, complexity and risk profile of your business that meets the rulebook's minimum standards. Your governing body must also give an annual statement on it.11
- If the Abu Dhabi Global Market Financial Services Regulatory Authority authorises you as a third party provider, you must hold professional indemnity insurance of at least US$150,000 at all times.4
- If you apply for or hold an Abu Dhabi Global Market Registration Authority licence to provide company services, you must obtain and maintain professional indemnity insurance, before or promptly on the grant of the licence, of at least USD 1,000,000 for any single claim and USD 1,500,000 in aggregate in any one year. The cover for legal costs must be at least 20% of those amounts.9
- If you apply for or hold an Abu Dhabi Global Market Registration Authority licence to provide tax services, you must obtain and maintain professional indemnity insurance of at least USD 1,000,000 for any single claim.5
Do you need health insurance for your staff in ADGM?
- In Abu Dhabi Global Market, as an employer you must obtain and maintain health insurance for your employees and, where applicable, their dependants, in line with the requirements of the relevant competent authority.1
- Abu Dhabi Global Market's employment guidance says you must obtain and maintain health insurance for all your employees, including UAE Golden Visa holders, and, where applicable, their dependants, except remote employees who neither live nor work in the UAE.3
- Abu Dhabi Global Market's employment guidance names the Department of Health Abu Dhabi as the competent authority for health insurance requirements.3
The rule for employers across Abu Dhabi is on the Abu Dhabi page.
Of the ADGM texts below, only the health section reaches an ordinary company
PII duties depend on a named FSRA status or a licensed service.
| Text | Weight | Date | What it addresses | What it does not cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment Regulations 2024, s 49 | Regulation | Effective date UNKNOWN | Health cover for employees and, where applicable, dependants. | No figure or plan named. Follows the Competent Authority. |
| Employment Regulations 2024, s 48 | Regulation | Amended 28 October 2025 | Medical assistance at the employer's expense if health insurance does not cover it. Negligence damages. | No policy duty in the section. |
| Employment Affairs Office guidance | Guidance | 18 February 2025 | Health, injury, competent authority, ILOE. | 0 matches for workers' compensation or workmen. |
| FSRA PRU, VER21.160926 | Authority rule | PRU 6.12.2 version from 1 January 2026 | PII for firms in scope and Third Party Providers. | Does not reach non-regulated ADGM companies. |
| Conditions of licence, Conditions 1 and 3 | Authority rule | Framework published 16 October 2025 | PII for tax and company service providers. | Does not reach ordinary companies. |
The February 2025 guidance predates the 28 October 2025 amendment to s 48.
Section 48 makes the employer liable on proven negligence and names no policy
The employer obtains medical assistance at its own expense where health insurance does not cover it. If the employee proves negligence, the employer is liable for damages set by the Court and a fine up to level 8. On death, the Court may award the estate not less than 24 months’ Wages if negligence is shown.2
Sources conflict on workers’ compensation, ILOE and PRU scope
| Topic | One side | Other side |
|---|---|---|
| Workers' compensation in free zones | One market page says it is enforced across most free zones. No ADGM rule cited. | ADGM guidance and s 48: negligence route, no policy term. |
| ILOE | EY, 31 May 2023: free zone workers excluding DIFC should enrol. | ADGM guidance, 18 February 2025: not mandatory in ADGM. |
| PRU 6.12.1 scope | Rulebook page, from 19 August 2025: adds a limit to firms carrying on activities prescribed in Rule 6.1.1(c). | PDF VER21.160926, which the page links as the current PDF: no such words. |
PII terms differ by status
Under PRU 6.12.2 a firm in scope takes out cover appropriate to its business, from an insurer with Credit Quality Grade 3 or better. The contract covers claims from the date of authorisation, legal defence costs, and the conduct of the firm, its employees, governing body and agents. The firm gives the Regulator an annual statement approved by its Governing Body and notifies material changes.4 No minimum sum appears in those paragraphs. ACA reports that branches of Category 3B, 3C and 4 firms no longer need PII, and that minimum standards applied from 1 January 2026.8 That is commentary.
Conditions 1 and 3 each require a minimum run-off of 12 months and cover for the United Arab Emirates and other territories served.95 The Registration Authority says legal service providers must also secure PII, and that the new rules took effect immediately for new applicants, with transition for existing licence holders.10
Watch
ADGM uploads
Summary. Uploads from the channel that adgm.com links. They are not evidence of any ADGM insurance term.
Sources
12
1ADGM, Employment Regulations 2024, s 49 Health insurance. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: Employment Regulations 2024, s 49 Health insurance
2ADGM, Employment Regulations 2024, s 48 Work-related injury and illness. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: Employment Regulations 2024, s 48 Work-related injury and illness
3ADGM Employment Affairs Office, Guidance on the Employment Regulations 2024. Paras 18, 19, 22, 23. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: Guidance on the Employment Regulations 2024
4ADGM FSRA, Prudential, Investment, Insurance Intermediation and Banking Rulebook (PRU), VER21.160926. PRU 6.12, 6.12A. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: Prudential, Investment, Insurance Intermediation and Banking Rulebook (PRU)
5ADGM Registration Authority, Conditions of licence, tax service providers, Condition 1 Appropriate Insurance Cover, PDF VER28102025. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: Conditions of licence, tax service providers, Condition 1 Appropriate Insurance Cover
6EY, UAE issues update to the mandatory unemployment insurance program. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: UAE issues update to the mandatory unemployment insurance program
7ADGM FSRA, PRU 6.12.1 rulebook page. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: PRU 6.12.1 rulebook page
8ACA Group, The ADGM's Prudential Rule Changes for Lower-Risk Firms. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: The ADGM's Prudential Rule Changes for Lower-Risk Firms
9ADGM Registration Authority, Conditions of licence, company service providers, Condition 3 Appropriate Insurance Cover, PDF VER26062026. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: Conditions of licence, company service providers, Condition 3 Appropriate Insurance Cover
10ADGM Registration Authority, ADGM Registration Authority publishes enhanced controls for legal, tax and company service providers. Last checked 4 Nov 2026. Source document: ADGM Registration Authority publishes enhanced controls for legal, tax and company service providers
11ADGM FSRA, FSRA Prudential, Investment, Insurance Intermediation and Banking Rulebook (PRU). PRU 6.12.1, 6.12.2(a). Last checked 12 Nov 2026. Source document: FSRA Prudential, Investment, Insurance Intermediation and Banking Rulebook (PRU)
12adgm.com, Abu Dhabi Global Market, legal text. Last checked 12 Nov 2026. Source document: Abu Dhabi Global Market, legal text
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