Insurtech licensing in the UAE

Rules as at 3 November 2026. Each statement carries its label and the section it comes from. The rules engine works out which route applies to your business; Clara, Candovio's AI assistant, gathers the facts.

Which regulator applies, and when

• In or from the DIFC. Operating an insurance aggregation site or arranging insurance is insurance intermediation, licensed by the DFSA as Category 4. Rule DFSA GEN 2.19.1(1)(c), (d); PIB 3.6.2
• In or from ADGM. Making arrangements with a view to someone buying insurance is insurance intermediation, licensed by the FSRA as Category 4. Merely providing the means by which the parties communicate is not. Rule FSRA FSMR Schedule 1 paras 33(2)(c), 34(1)
• Onshore brokerage. The Central Bank of the UAE licenses insurance brokers. Rule Insurance Brokers' Regulation C 1/2024
• Onshore price comparison websites. A price comparison website must be registered and must renew its registration each year. Only insurance brokers may deal with it, and only while it is registered. It may not charge commission, only a lump-sum referral allowance. Rule Electronic Insurance Regulations, IA Board Resolution 18/2020 Art 1, 15(1), 15(3) The regulations set no minimum capital or guarantee for it. Rule Electronic Insurance Regulations Art 15
• Onshore embedded distribution. An insurance company needs prior approval before it sells through another party's website. Rule Electronic Insurance Regulations Art 13(4) Life products linked to investment instruments may not be sold online. Rule Electronic Insurance Regulations Art 6(1)
• Onshore third-party administrators. The Central Bank licenses third-party administrators for health insurance. The applicant must be a public or private shareholding company or a limited liability company, and a foreign branch needs two years' practice or a financial free-zone licence. Rule Health Insurance TPA Instructions, IA Board Resolution 9/2011 Art 5(1) The register has no third-party administrator category for other lines. Guidance CBUAE register of licensed insurance entities, August 2026
• Managing general agents. The Central Bank's register has no underwriting agency or managing general agent category. Guidance CBUAE register of licensed insurance entities, August 2026 Whether a managing general agent with binding authority can be licensed onshore as an insurance agent is a question for the call. Judgement CBUAE register of licensed insurance entities, August 2026 In the DIFC and ADGM, insurance management is an express regulated activity. Rule DFSA GEN 2.20.1; FSRA FSMR Schedule 1 para 36
• Carrying the risk. Effecting or carrying out contracts of insurance is insurance business, licensed by the DFSA or the FSRA in the free zones and by the Central Bank onshore. Rule DFSA GEN 2.15.1, 2.16.1; FSRA FSMR Schedule 1 paras 31, 32; Decree-Law 6/2025 Art 61

Licence categories and base capital

Capital for an insurer is set under each regulator's own rules. We name the text rather than quote a figure, because the figure depends on the type of insurer and its legal form. Read the current text before relying on it.

• In the DIFC, insurers are subject to the risk-based regulatory capital requirement set out in the DFSA's PIN module. Guidance DFSA: Insurance supervision
• In ADGM, insurer capital sits in the FSRA's PIN module. Rule FSRA FSMR Schedule 1 paras 31, 32; PIN
• Onshore, Article 3 of Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2009, as amended by Cabinet Resolution No. 16 of 2017, sets the minimum subscribed and paid-up capital for insurance and reinsurance companies, takaful and retakaful included. Article 4 sets a UAE or GCC ownership condition. Rule Cabinet Resolution 42/2009 Art 1, 3, 4

Key requirements

• A DFSA firm that only carries on insurance intermediation needs professional indemnity cover of at least USD 800,000 a year. Rule DFSA PIB 6.12
• An aggregation site that retail clients can use needs the retail endorsement on the DFSA licence. Rule DFSA GEN 2.2.8 Where it compares long-term insurance, it is also advising on financial products. Guidance DFSA GEN 2.11.1 item 3
• Advice on long-term insurance in ADGM sits under advising on investments or credit. Rule FSRA FSMR Schedule 1 para 34(2)
• A Central Bank insurance broker incorporated in the UAE must be 51% owned by UAE nationals, and brokers must lodge a guarantee of AED 3m or AED 5m and hold professional indemnity cover of AED 2m or AED 3m. Rule Insurance Brokers' Regulation C 1/2024 Art 2.9 to 2.11
• Application fees for insurance intermediation: USD 15,000 with the DFSA Rule DFSA FER 2.1.1 and USD 15,000 with the FSRA. Rule FSRA FEES 3.2.1 to 3.16.2

Application stages

1. Assessment. The assessment gives a provisional result in about ten minutes, reviewed by a person before it is released to you, and Candovio confirms the route with you on a call.
2. Application pack. The AI assistant drafts the business plan, policies and forms; Candovio checks every line; you approve it.
3. Submission and questions. We file the application and answer the regulator's questions from the same record.
4. Decision and conditions. The regulator decides, usually first in principle with conditions, and the licence follows once the conditions are met.

The Central Bank gives about 60 days for insurance licensing. Guidance CBUAE: Licensing The DFSA's 2016 target for Category 4 was 80 calendar days to an in-principle decision, not since reaffirmed. Guidance DFSA authorisation outreach, 30 May 2016 We do not promise timelines.

Questions