The UAE insurance market according to Verisk: a digital future led by relationships and trust

The insurance industry is approaching a pivotal moment in the UAE. Digital adoption is accelerating at an unprecedented pace; digital insurance sales alone grew 15% in 2025¹. The UAE now hosts 60 licensed insurers² and an insurtech ecosystem valued at USD 8.5bn³. It is also one of the fastest‑digitising economies in the GCC⁴.

Proactive regulation through initiatives like Sanadak, and the draw of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) ecosystem are strengthening confidence and attracting global talent. Lloyd’s partnership with Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism has brought a new momentum to the insurtech landscape, creating an environment where innovation is encouraged. Specialty and reinsurance lines are expanding particularly quickly, with UAE reinsurance forecast to grow at a 7.2% CAGR from 2025 to 2031, over three times faster than broader insurance lines⁵.

For years, insurers and brokers have relied on manual, document-heavy workflows. As we’ve seen consistently both locally and globally, this can introduce inaccuracy, slow business down and increase uncertainty and compliance risk. Systems do not always integrate with one another, and teams lose time re-entering information, especially when structured data is not widely adopted.

As growth accelerates, these legacy challenges become more pronounced. Higher volumes, more complex submissions, fragmented data, and varied bordereaux formats make it difficult to maintain operational discipline, enforce governance, or obtain a clear view of portfolio level exposure.

Insurers and brokers know they must modernise; the question is how to do it without disrupting the deeply embedded workflows that define the region. In the UAE nothing can replace the importance of human connection: trust is built over time through personal meetings and decisions rely on this earned credibility. Technology only succeeds when it enhances these relationships, with users responding best to tools that remove friction, improve consistency, and create the space and time for experts to do what they do best.

Verisk’s platforms are designed to support markets where digital maturity is advancing, but where human relationships remain central. Our platforms can be adopted individually or in combination.

Whitespace is a digital placing platform that enables brokers and insurers to structure, negotiate, and bind risks in a shared online marketplace. Used by more than 390 organisations globally and 10 in the Middle East, it digitises contracts, enables API connectivity, and establishes strong data foundations from the outset.

Rulebook allows insurers to define and deploy underwriting and rating rules from a single source across multiple systems and distribution channels. It enables real‑time decisioning, accelerates product updates, and strengthens governance and auditability.

Sequel Impact provides a clear, deterministic view of exposure and accumulation by capturing and structuring detailed risk data. It is already in live use with Emirates Insurance, a leading UAE insurer, who noted, “the platform’s flexibility and depth of functionality met our expectations, ensuring we are well positioned to manage our exposure with greater precision.”⁶

Alongside these platforms, Verisk’s global capabilities (including CRS analytics, catastrophe modelling, and risk intelligence) offer broader support across regulatory reporting, solvency, and supervisory expectations.

Tasks where efficiency and accuracy make a difference are a natural fit for a digital upgrade: underwriting automation, portfolio analytics, placement and the implementation of structured data standards. These see immediate benefit, particularly in high-volume lines where operational discipline is essential. Modernisation does not need to be disruptive and should be workflow-led: incremental transformation, aligned to local practice and introduced at a manageable pace. Verisk has seen customers succeed at different speeds from targeted workflow improvements to more ambitious digital overhauls.

We are inspired by a market that values both innovation and human connection. The UAE continues to demonstrate that modernisation doesn’t have to come at the expense of culture or relationships. Verisk is helping regional and international insurers replace friction caused by fragmented legacy systems and varied digital readiness with speed, certainty and transparency, while preserving the relationship‑first ethos that defines the market.

¹ UAE Insurance Authority via Arabian Business, 2025

² CBUAE, 2024–2025

³ Ken Research 2025; Nexdigm 2024

⁴ Statista, 2025

⁵ Mobility Foresights

⁶ Verisk Specialty Business Solutions Emirates Insurance press release, 2025