How insurance is sold in the UAE

Who sells most UAE insurance?

Brokers placed AED 38.1 billion, 50.9% of gross written premium (GWP) in 2025, against AED 32.9 billion and 50.5% in 2024.¹ The report’s other channels, which it describes as primarily direct sales, placed AED 29.2 billion, 39.0%, against AED 26.2 billion and 40.3%. Together the two placed 89.9% of premium. Banks rose from 4.3% to 5.8%, AED 4.4 billion. Agents went from 4.4% to 3.8%, AED 2.8 billion.

6 categories. Highest: Brokers, 38.09 AED billion. Lowest: Financial institutions, 0.07 AED billion.

Source

Source: Central Bank of the UAE, Annual Statistical Report for the Insurance Sector of the U.A.E. 2025. Accessed 4 Nov 2026.

Do the channels differ between Life and Non-Life?

Yes. In Non-Life, brokers placed AED 33.42 billion of AED 63.50 billion, 52.6%. Others placed 43.5%, agents 2.8% and banks 0.5%. In Life the order changes: brokers 41.2%, banks 35.6%, others 13.9% and agents 9.2%.

The split also differs by company type. Foreign companies placed 77.0% of Non-Life through brokers and 18.1% through others. National companies placed 45.7% through brokers and 50.7% through others.

3 categories. Highest: Foreign companies, 77%. Lowest: National companies, 45.7%.

Source

Source: Central Bank of the UAE, Annual Statistical Report for the Insurance Sector of the U.A.E. 2025. Accessed 4 Nov 2026.

How much insurance is sold online?

Online sales were 0.5% of Non-Life premium and nil in Life. Policies sold online came to AED 307,002 thousand, all Non-Life. Foreign companies sold AED 190,359 thousand online, 1.4% of their Non-Life premium, and national companies AED 116,643 thousand, 0.2%. Table 8 records AED 126 thousand of commission on those sales. The report counts 23 price comparison websites in 2025, up from 16 in 2024, and does not give their premium.

How much commission is paid on UAE insurance?

Commissions rose 20.5% to AED 6.3 billion in 2025. Commissions on property and liability business rose 24.5%, and on persons and fund accumulation 0.5%. Table 8 gives AED 5,410,328 thousand on Non-Life and AED 871,694 thousand on Life. Broker commission was AED 3,462,251 thousand on Non-Life, a ratio of 10.4%, and AED 340,179 thousand on Life, 7.3%.

6 categories. Highest: Banks, 35.4%. Lowest: Online, 0%.

Source

Source: Central Bank of the UAE, Annual Statistical Report for the Insurance Sector of the U.A.E. 2025. Accessed 4 Nov 2026.

Banks show the highest Non-Life ratio, 35.4%, on AED 327,678 thousand of premium. Agents show 9.7% and others 6.0%. These ratios are totals for each channel across all Non-Life business. They say nothing about the commission on any one policy. Ask your broker how they are paid and what commission applies to your policy.

What does the Central Bank report say about limits on brokers?

The report describes restrictions under which brokers can no longer collect premiums or issue policies or endorsements.¹ It describes the Insurance Brokers’ Regulation as setting rules on the scope of broking and licensing. It also covers timely commission payment, audit and governance, cybersecurity and data retention.

Class totals are on the market by class page.

The small print

• Table 8 covers all insurance, split Life and Non-Life. By arithmetic, Non-Life includes most health: its AED 63.50 billion is well above the AED 30.02 billion of property and liability in Table 2A. The report does not state this. Business lines cannot be isolated from the table.¹
• The table shows where premium was placed. It gives no price, service level or claims outcome by channel.
• The report describes Others only as primarily direct sales. Individual broker share is not published.
• Channel figures for 2024 are limited to the four shares in section 3.6.
• Broker counts differ between sources. The report counts 161 insurance broker companies in 2025, 163 in 2024 and 168 in 2023. The CBUAE register of September 2026 lists 151 broker rows.² The dates differ, so no decline is stated.