Commercial vehicle and fleet insurance in the UAE

Do you have to insure a commercial vehicle?

That is Art 19 of Federal Decree-Law 14 of 2024. The rule attaches to the vehicle, not to the type of business. Art 19(2) bars policy conditions that reduce or prevent cover of full civil liability for death, bodily injury or material damage caused by the vehicle. Art 19(3) leaves the controls, and the type of insurance for each vehicle, to Executive Regulations.¹

Check that every vehicle you own or license is insured before its licence is issued or renewed.

Who must hold motor insurance?

The text of Art 19 of the land transport law does not say who holds the cover. Other haulage is not named, and the terms sit in the executive bylaw.² Ask your insurer which policy meets it if you run cross-border haulage.

What do the unified motor policies say about fleets?

Unified policies have applied since 1 January 2017.³ The third party policy says that for a fleet policy or any insured vehicle, the company may not agree anything that reduces full third party cover. New cover or higher limits may be agreed by separate policy or rider. It limits liability to AED 200,000 per person for the death of the driver of a rental, public transport or driving-school vehicle.⁴

The loss and damage policy form has a use field with five options: private, commercial, rental, driving education and other. Its deductibles schedule sets maximums by vehicle.⁵

The Rulebook text says “exceeds (3) tons” in both rows. Check the PDF version of your policy before relying on either band.

Ask your insurer what use your vehicle is recorded under, its passenger capacity or tonnage, and whether a fleet policy applies.

Commercial motor showed a gross loss of AED 161.5 million in 2025

Commercial motor’s gross combined ratio was 110.0% in 2025, against 124.6% for personal third party liability and 88.9% for personal comprehensive. The Central Bank report separates commercial from personal motor.⁶

These are insurer results across the whole market. They are not a fleet price.

How big is the UAE motor market?

The Motor and transportation line wrote AED 10,075.9 million of premium in 2025, up 25.1% on AED 8,051.6 million in 2024⁷, on 5,607,083 policies.⁶ Insurers paid AED 6,379.5 million in claims, a paid loss ratio of 69.7%. Of the premium written within the UAE, 67.3% is allocated to Dubai, 23.7% to Abu Dhabi, 4.0% to Sharjah and 5.0% to the other emirates. The line combines personal and commercial motor.