The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) issued its "Financial Stability Report 2025" yesterday, affirming the strength and resilience of the UAE financial and banking system.
In the insurance section of the report, the CBUAE highlighted the continued resilience of the sector, whose total assets rose to ~AED164.9bn ($44.9bn) at 31 December 2025, from ~AED155.5bn at the end of 2024.
The sector maintained an adequate solvency position, sustained profitability, and broad-based improvements across key performance indicators, enhancing protection for policyholders and beneficiaries.
The sector’s Solvency Capital Ratio (SCR) stood at 199% at the end of 2025, compared to 196% a year earlier. This improvement was driven by a modest increase in required capital compared to the growth in available own funds, said the report.
Gross written premiums rose by 14.9% y-o-y to ~AED74.8bn. Property and liability insurance premiums grew by 14.1% y-o-y to ~AED30bn, while health insurance premiums increased by 16.3% y-o-y to ~AED36.4bn, and life insurance premiums rose by 12.1% y-o-y to ~AED8.4bn. Health insurance accounted for 48.7% of total premiums, followed by property and liability insurance at 40.1%, and life insurance at 11.2%.
Gross claims paid for all insurance types rose by 11.0% to AED46.2bn, reflecting increased pay-outs for property and liability, health insurance, and insurance of persons and fund accumulation.
Profitability and retention
The insurance sector’s profitability was bolstered by sustained underwriting performance. Technical provisions grew by 4.4% to ~AED96.3bn, enhancing the capacity to meet policyholder obligations. Moreover, the investment portfolio rose by 13.5% to ~AED96.4bn, representing 58.4% of total assets, with investments diversified across equity, bonds, real estate and deposits.
The retention ratio of written premiums improved to 56.0% in 2025, amounting to ~AED41.9bn, compared to 54.9% (~AED35.7bn) in the previous year.
This upward trend indicates increased premiums retained within the UAE, continuing the sector’s stability and development, balanced with the use of appropriate risk transfer tools, such as specialised reinsurance arrangements.
Insurance regulation
On the regulatory front, following the issuance of the “Federal Decree-Law of 2025 Regarding the Central Bank, Regulation of Financial Institutions and Activities, and Insurance Business”, the CBUAE has continued to implement the new legal framework for the insurance sector, consistent with the law’s provisions, to further define supervisory requirements and improve prudential and governance requirements.
Additionally, the CBUAE introduced new regulations, including the Insurance Group Supervision Regulation, covering group governance, risk management, consolidated reporting, supervisory oversight, and capital/solvency on a group-wide basis.