The UAE insurance sector experienced continued growth in Q2 2024, as reported in the Quarterly Economic Review by the Central Bank.
In the first half of 2024, gross written premiums rose by 31.2% year-on-year to AED 35.7B ($9.72B). This increase was largely due to a 39.4% rise in property and liability insurance premiums, a 30.7% increase in health insurance premiums, and a 9.1% boost in life insurance and fund accumulation premiums, primarily driven by higher group and individual life insurance sales.
Gross paid claims across all insurance types surged by 34% year-on-year to AED 18.9B ($5.1B) in H1 2024. This growth was mainly due to a 46.2% increase in claims for property and liability insurance and a remarkable 150% rise in claims for life insurance and fund accumulation.
Total technical provisions for all insurance types rose by 22.8% year-on-year to AED 94.2B ($25.6 B). Invested assets in the insurance sector totalled AED 78.7B ($21.4B), constituting 50.8% of total assets, up from AED 72.9B ($19.8B) or 57.1% in the same period of 2023.
The retention ratio for written insurance premiums was 53.1% in H1 2024, slightly down from 53.8% the previous year. The sector remains well-capitalised, with the ratio of own funds to Minimum Capital Requirement rising to 376% and the ratio of own funds to Solvency Capital Requirement at 185.8%.
In terms of profitability, net profit to net written premiums was 6%, down from 10.4% the previous year, while return on average assets increased to 0.7%. The UAE has 59 licensed insurance companies, including 23 traditional and 10 takaful firms, alongside 25 foreign branches. The number of insurance-related professionals stands at 498.
