The UAE insurance sector continued to grow in Q2 2024 in terms of gross written premiums, according to the Quarterly Economic Review issued by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) on Wednesday.

During the first six months of 2024, the gross written premiums increased by 31.2 percent Y-o-Y in H1 2024 to AED 35.7 billion, mostly due to an increase in property and liability insurance premiums by (39.4 percent) Y-o-Y, health insurance premiums by (30.7 percent) Y-o-Y, and the insurance of persons and fund accumulation premiums by (9.1 percent) Y-o-Y, and this growth resulting primarily from increase in group and individual life insurance premiums.

The gross paid claims of all types of insurance plans increased by 34.0 percent Y-o-Y to AED 18.9 billion in H1 2024. This was mainly driven by the rise in claims paid in property and liability insurance by 46.2 percent Y-o-Y, and 150 percent insurance of persons and fund accumulation.

In H1 2024, the total technical provisions of all types of insurance increased by 22.8 percent Y-o-Y to AED 94.2 billion. The volume of invested assets in the insurance sector amounted to AED78.7 billion (50.8 percent of total assets) compared to AED72.9 billion (57.1 percent of total assets) during the same period in 2023. The retention ratio of written insurance premiums for all types of insurance was 53.1 percent (AED 18.9 billion) in H1 2024, compared to 53.8 percent (AED14.6 billion) a year earlier.

The UAE insurance sector remained well-capitalised. With regard to the various capital adequacy ratios, the own funds10 to Minimum Capital Requirement ratio increased to 376 percent in H1 2024, compared to 352.4 percent in the first half of 2023; the own funds to Solvency Capital Requirement ratio reached to 185.8 percent in Year-to-June 2024 compared to 203.4 percent in H1 2023, as a result of an increase in own funds eligible to meet solvency capital requirements; and the own funds to Minimum Guarantee Fund ratio was 286.7 percent in the first six months of 2024 compared to 308.9 percent in H1 2023.

In terms of profitability, the net total profit to net written premiums was 6 percent in H1 2024, compared to 10.4 percent a year earlier. The return on average assets increased to 0.7 percent in H1 2024 compared to 0.5 percent in the first half of the previous year.

The number of licenced insurance companies in the UAE is 59, comprising 23 traditional and 10 takaful national companies, and 25 branches of foreign insurance companies operating in the UAE and one branch of a foreign reinsurance company operating in the UAE.

The number of insurance-related professions reached 498.