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What insurance does a business need in Abu Dhabi?
By law, Abu Dhabi businesses need health insurance for every employee and at least third party motor insurance for every company vehicle. Clinics and other licensed healthcare providers also need medical liability insurance. Beyond the law, the covers businesses most often miss are workmen's compensation, property and contents, public liability, contractors' all risks, plant and machinery, and marine cargo. Trade credit and professional indemnity are worth asking about if you sell on credit or give advice.
Checked October 2026. General information, not legal advice. All cover is subject to policy terms.
Required by law in Abu Dhabi
Health insurance for employees
Employers in Abu Dhabi must provide health insurance for their employees. If you run the business alone, you still need health insurance for your own residence visa.
Source: DOH Abu Dhabi: Health Insurance Law No. 23 of 2005. Read more: Group medical insurance guide
Motor insurance
Every vehicle needs at least third party cover, which pays for damage or injury you cause to others. Comprehensive cover also repairs your own vehicle. With five or more vehicles, one fleet policy can give you a single renewal date and one set of papers.
Source: CBUAE Rulebook: unified motor third party policy. Read more: Fleet and commercial motor guide
Medical malpractice (medical liability)
Licensed healthcare professionals and facilities must hold medical liability insurance. It covers claims from patients for errors in diagnosis or treatment.
Source: DOH Abu Dhabi: Healthcare Providers Manual
Covers businesses often miss
Workmen's compensation
Under UAE labour law, the employer pays for an employee's treatment and compensation after a work injury or occupational disease, with or without insurance. Workmen's compensation insurance pays that cost, subject to policy terms. The UAE motor policy does not cover your own employees injured at work in or by your vehicles, unless extra cover is added.
Source: UAE Government portal: work injury compensation. Read more: Workmen's compensation guide
Property and contents
Covers your building, stock, equipment and fit-out against fire, water damage and other insured events. If you rent, the landlord's insurance usually covers the building only, not what is inside it.
Read more: Property and business interruption guide
Public liability
Covers injury or damage you cause to visitors, clients or the public. Many clients ask to see it before you start work on their site or premises.
Read more: Liability insurance guide
Contractors' All Risks (CAR)
Covers the project works and materials, and damage to others, while a project is being built. Project contracts often require the contractor to hold it before work starts.
Read more: Contractors All Risk guide
Contractors' plant and machinery
Covers your own machines, such as cranes, forklifts, pumps and mixers, against accidental damage and theft, on site or in your yard. Third party motor cover pays for damage to others, not for repairing your own machines.
Marine cargo
Covers goods while they travel by sea, air or road. Goods can be damaged or lost on the way, and what the carrier pays is often limited.
Read more: Marine cargo insurance guide
Worth asking about
Trade credit
Covers part of what you are owed if a business customer does not pay, subject to policy terms. Worth asking about if you sell to other businesses on credit: one large customer not paying can hurt your cash flow.
Read more: Trade credit insurance guide
Professional indemnity
Covers claims that your advice, design or service caused a client a loss, including your defence costs, subject to policy terms.
Read more: Professional indemnity guide
Questions businesses ask
What insurance is mandatory for a business in Abu Dhabi?
Health insurance for employees and at least third party motor insurance for every company vehicle. Licensed clinics and healthcare professionals also need medical liability insurance. Other covers are not required by law, but contracts, landlords, banks and clients often ask for them.
Is workmen's compensation insurance mandatory in the UAE?
The insurance itself isn't required by federal law, but the liability is: the employer must pay for treatment and compensation after a work injury, with or without insurance. Many clients and main contractors ask for the cover before awarding a contract.
Does my landlord's insurance cover my stock and fit-out?
Usually not. A landlord's policy normally covers the building only. Your stock, equipment and fit-out need their own property cover.
Do I need CAR insurance for a fit-out or installation job?
Often, yes. Many project contracts require the contractor to hold Contractors' All Risks cover before work starts. Check the insurance clause in your contract, or send it to us to check.
Is the Cover Map free, and what happens to my answers?
It is free. You answer a few quick questions and see which covers apply to your business. Your name and contact details reach Al Berwaz only if you choose to send your map, and we use them only to reply about your insurance.