Does your car insurance cover you off the road?

The unified policy is the standard wording UAE insurers must use.¹ Its Loss and Damage form covers your own car and its Third Party form covers other people. A rider is a special agreement that supplements your basic cover.²

Is damage to your own car covered off the road?

No, unless a rider is issued extending your cover. You and your insurer may agree a rider, for an additional premium, to cover damage or risks outside the roads.²

Under the motor tariff, the regulator’s price rules, additional cover carries an agreed additional premium, and your insurer must state it in clear wording, in a different colour or by addendum.³ Neither the policy nor the tariff gives standard off-road rider wording. Your insurer’s document states the scope of a rider, so read yours.

What if you cause an accident off the road?

Your insurer may claim back what it paid, if you have no additional cover. The Third Party policy does not exclude off-road use. It lists four exclusions: accidents outside the State, natural disasters, war and similar events, and accidents to you, the driver and employees hurt at work.⁴

If your car is used outside the road without any additional cover, your insurer may have recourse. Recourse is a claim against you, the driver or the person responsible, within the amount of compensation paid. It may not rely against the injured third party on an argument it can use against you.⁴ Ask your insurer whether your policy carries additional cover.

What counts as off the road?

The policies do not say for any given place. Both define a road in the same terms. It is a road open to the public without special permission, and any place made available for vehicles to cross and open to the public by permission or licence from an authority or otherwise, paid or free.^2,4

The traffic law in force defines a road as every path open to public traffic, paved or unpaved, without special permission, and every public place wide enough for vehicles that the public may visit.⁵

None of these says whether a given track, car park, beach or area of sand falls inside the definition. Ask your insurer to state its position in writing.

Does your car qualify for off-road cover?

Ask your insurer. Sukoon is one example, and it limits the cover to some SUVs. Its Off Road Coverage applies only if it is on your Schedule, and only to private use SUVs with all-wheel-drive capability. The excess on an off-road claim is double the standard excess. It excludes commercial type vehicles, vehicles driven for business, and competitive events or racing.⁶ Sukoon is listed on the Central Bank’s September 2026 register.⁷

Off-road cover does not always mean dunes. Each insurer sets its own limits, and Table 1 shows how far they differ.

Ask whether your rider covers sand driving, and what excess applies, before your first trip.

Does a four-wheel drive include off-road cover?

Not under the standard wording. The off-road exclusion does not vary by body type.² Four-wheel drives have their own class in the motor tariff. Neither tariff table mentions off-road use, so the class of vehicle says nothing about off-road cover.³

Does modifying your car change your cover?

It can raise your excess if you cause an accident. Your insurer may add up to 15% of the compensation for sports cars and modified vehicles, and up to 20% for vehicles modified outside the factory. Where several percentages apply, the highest counts.²

UAE traffic law requires your licensing authority’s approval for substantial changes to the shape, chassis, body, engine power or colour, and an inspection before you use the car.⁵ From 1 January 2027, an unapproved change to the body, engine or colour can lead to your vehicle licence being suspended.⁸ None of these texts names lift kits or tyres. Tell your insurer about any change when you buy or renew. It may recover what it paid if the insurance rested on non-disclosure of material facts.²

What else can apply on an off-road trip?

Races, tyres, recovery and natural disasters each have their own terms, on or off the road.

The policy does not say whether a rider extends recovery from off the road to a repair shop. Check your rider’s wording.

What if you deliberately drive into a wadi?

One official says your insurer would not have to pay. Emirates Insurance Federation official Mohammed Mazhar Hamadeh said damage from deliberately driving into wadis, flood channels or known high-risk areas is not a natural hazard and that insurers are not obliged to compensate it, even on a comprehensive policy, as reported by Gulf News citing Emarat Al Youm on 21 December 2025.⁹

That is a reported statement, not a policy clause. The flood guide has the full position.

Could these terms change in 2027?

Not on the face of Cabinet Resolution 174 of 2026, which takes effect on 1 January 2027. Its insurance articles do not mention off-road use.⁸ Ask your insurer whether your policy changes at renewal. Versions and rider rules are in the unified motor policy guide.