Marine cargo insurance in the UAE

Do you have to insure your cargo?

A legal duty on cargo owners to insure is not established in the texts. Your bank’s letter of credit, your CIF contract or customs terms may still require cover. A separate rule says international land transport operations must be insured from the start of the trip to its end. The text does not say who holds that cover (Federal Law 9 of 2011, Art 19).¹ No minimum amount is stated.

Check your letter of credit and customs terms before you ship.

How much does a carrier pay if your cargo is lost or damaged?

A carrier’s liability for cargo is limited to 835 Special Drawing Rights per package or unit, or 2.5 Special Drawing Rights per kilogram, whichever is higher (Art 177). A freight forwarder’s liability for loss and damage follows the same provisions (Art 202(3)).² The cap is calculated on the IMF value of the Special Drawing Right, so no dirham figure is given here.

That is the position under Art 202(7).² The cap limits what a carrier owes and does not set the value you insure.

Ask your forwarder in writing whether it has agreed to insure the goods.

What does the Maritime Law say about your cargo policy?

Section Eight of Decree-Law 43 of 2023 applies to insurance of things exposed to sea risks and to liabilities from sea voyages.²

• Interest. A party needs a legitimate interest to benefit from marine insurance (Art 280(4)).
• Form. A marine insurance contract or amendment may only be executed in writing. A temporary contract is evidence until the final one issues (Art 281(1), (2)).
• Voyage or subscription. Cargo insurance is by single voyage policy, or by subscription policy for several voyages or a definite period (Art 325).
• Land and air stages. Land, sea or air transport complementary to the voyage falls under marine insurance rules unless otherwise agreed (Art 326(2)).
• What the insurer pays. The insurer is liable for material damage from a covered marine danger or force majeure, for the general average share, for costs of protecting the property, and for fault of the insured or its land-based subordinates, but not intentional or serious mistakes (Art 286).
• War and similar risks. Unless agreed otherwise, the insurer does not guarantee war, disturbances, piracy, revolutions, strikes, closures, sabotage, terrorism or damage from explosions and nuclear radiation (Art 288).
• Insured amount. The insured amount may not exceed the highest of three values: purchase or current price at shipment plus transport costs and expected profit, value at arrival, or the insured’s selling price plus agreed amounts (Art 327).
• Loss. Loss is the difference between damaged value and intact value at one time and place, and that ratio applies to the sum insured (Art 328).
• Assigning cargo to the insurer. The insured may assign cargo to the insurer where there is no news of the ship for 90 days, where the ship is unseaworthy with no alternative in 90 days, where loss reaches three quarters of value, or where goods are sold during the voyage for physical damage (Art 329).

Ask your insurer whether war, piracy, strikes and terrorism are agreed into your cover.

How long do you have to bring a case on the policy?

Cases under a marine insurance contract are not heard after one year, absent a legally admissible excuse (Art 309). For damage to cargo, the year runs from the ship’s arrival or due arrival date, or from the incident if later.² The general three-year period in Civil Code Art 966 applies “unless the law provides otherwise”.³

Note the arrival date of your shipment as soon as the goods land.

How big is marine insurance in the UAE?

The Central Bank reports cargo only inside its Marine and aviation line, which combines marine hull, marine cargo and aviation.⁴

The 2025 gross loss ratio was 44.7% on incurred claims and 51.8% on paid claims.⁴ Of AED 1,781.0 million written within the UAE in 2025, Dubai holds 59.9%, Abu Dhabi 34.9%, Sharjah 4.1% and the other emirates 1.2%.⁴

How does the premium compare with UAE trade?

UAE non-oil foreign trade was about AED 3.8 trillion in 2025, up 27%, while marine and aviation premium was AED 2.26 billion, down 2.5%.⁵ The two figures have different scopes, so one does not measure the other and no share of trade insured can be derived.