Car accident claims in the UAE, step by step

Duties and periods below are as of 6 November 2026. This is not legal advice.

Clause references to the Loss and Damage policy (L&D) and the Third Party Liability policy (TPL) are to the versions consolidated on 18 January 2021. The CBUAE Rulebook shows both as In-Force.^1,2 They are baseline wordings. Insurer products may add riders, so check your own policy.

The claim clock runs from 3 hours to 3 years

The Sanadak guide shows the three waiting periods side by side.

The TPL lawsuit limit differs between the Arabic and English texts

The English of TPL Ch 7 cl 2 bars lawsuits after three years “from the date of the accident or the Injured Party and related parties become aware of the damage and the person liable for it”.² The Arabic counts the three years only from the day the injured party and interested parties learned of the damage and the person liable. It gives no accident date.¹¹ The translation is ours. The Rulebook pages do not say which language prevails.

L&D Ch 1 cl 11 reads the same in both languages: three years from the occurrence, or from when the related parties became aware of it.^1,12

The Civil Transactions Law, effective 1 June 2026, sets its own 3-year rule for claims arising from an insurance contract (Art 966). Its insurance chapter applies without prejudice to special laws (Art 953). The English and Arabic of Art 966 match.^13,14 How it sits with the policy clauses is not stated.

The traffic law sets the first duties

A driver must report an accident to the police, or the party the traffic authority approves, by an approved means within 3 hours, unless an acceptable excuse exists.³ The Arabic text matches.¹⁵ You must carry your driving licence while driving (Art 8(1)), and show your driving licence, Vehicle Licence and personal data when the traffic authority asks (Art 5(1)(a)).³

Resolution 174 of 2026 is Arabic only so far, and the translations here are ours.¹⁷ How Art 7(6) sits with the instruction to leave vehicles in place after an injury is not stated in the text.

Traffic officers may arrest a driver caught in the act of causing death or injury, or serious damage to property (Art 31). A vehicle linked to an accident involving a crime may be seized if needed as evidence (Art 32(5)).³ Traffic reports for accidents and similar cases are opened in the unified criminal systems and referred to the public prosecution.¹⁸

The Art 38 penalty differs between the Arabic and English texts

Not stopping without an acceptable excuse after an accident with injuries is an offence. The Arabic text gives prison of up to 1 year and a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 100,000, or one of the two.¹⁵ The English text gives “not more than two years” and a fine up to “(AED 100.000) one million AED”.³ The English also opens “Whoever commits deliberately”. The Arabic has no such word. The portal states that the Arabic text prevails.

Sources differ on calling 999 for a minor accident

• u.ae Handling emergencies and the MOI emergency page say call the police on 999, inform them and wait for instructions.^19,16
• u.ae Road safety says minor accidents can be reported online by app.²⁰
• MOI’s reporting flow asks about injuries first and sends injury cases to 999.²¹

The independent channel drive uae published this video on 25 April 2025.

Play: What to Do After a Car Accident in the UAE Step-by-Step Guide (Updated)Nothing loads from YouTube until you click. Plays through youtube-nocookie.com.

The path changes with the accident type

Report channels by emirate are in the accident report guide.

Minor accident, nobody hurt, other party known

1. Move off the carriageway.¹⁹
2. File a minor accident report by app or website. MOI lists a fee of AED 500.²²
3. The at-fault driver’s insurer handles the other party’s claim under the TPL. The other party may claim direct (TPL Ch 1 cl 4).²
4. The non-fault driver can claim on the at-fault insurer as a third party, or on their own L&D. If their L&D has a condition of repair within the agency, their own insurer repairs and recovers from the at-fault insurer on the basis in TPL Ch 1 cl 13(b).

Injury

1. Call 999. Leave vehicles in place.¹⁹
2. Police handle the report. Accident files can go to the prosecution.¹⁸
3. The federal fee for a certified true copy of the accident investigation report is AED 100 (item 74).²³ Dubai’s To Whom It May Concern certificate records the facts of a report for use with courts and insurers.²⁴
4. The at-fault insurer pays treatment expenses to the providers and issues a letter of commitment if treatment is unfinished (TPL Ch 2 cl 1(a) Third). It pays AED 6,770 per injured person to the ambulance provider (Ch 2 cl 6). Compensation is paid once the judgment is enforceable (Ch 2 cl 1(b)).²

Death and injury liability is the value judicially awarded, without limit. The limit is AED 200,000 per person on the death of a spouse, parent or child of the insured or driver, and disability is scaled to that sum (TPL Ch 1 cl 5, Ch 2 cl 1).

Hit and run

If anyone is hurt, the injury path applies. For damage only, MOI’s service is “Issue an Accident Report Against an Unknown Person”, which requires no data on the responsible person and no cameras at the location.⁴ The page does not say whether police investigate a moving hit and run, or whether a driver who holds a plate number can use the service. Ask MOI or Dubai Police.

Under the L&D, the deductible may apply as a case deemed committed by an unknown person (Ch 3 cl 6).¹ The two policies do not say who compensates a third party hit by an unidentified or uninsured driver.

Damage by an unknown person, such as while parked

MOI’s report needs photos of all four sides, and is valid for 3 months from issue. The fee is AED 400 federal, plus AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation in Dubai.⁴ The report goes to the insurer under the L&D, and the deductible may apply as above.

Item 76 of Cabinet Resolution 30 of 2017 also gives AED 400.²³

Single vehicle

The L&D lists collision and turnover (Ch 2 cl 1), and the deductible may apply as the insured caused the accident. The TPL’s purpose clause covers liability to a third party only, and its property limit leaves out property owned by the insured or the driver (Ch 2 cl 1(c)).²

Rain or flood

Third party cover does not pay for your own car. On comprehensive cover, do not restart the car, tell the authorities and your insurer, and get the certificate your emirate issues. The steps, the certificate for each emirate and what each source says on cover are in the flood guide.

Your own policy and the other driver’s policy give different rights

A third party may claim directly against the at-fault driver’s insurer (TPL Ch 1 cl 4). That insurer cannot use against the third party any argument available against the insured (Ch 1 cl 3).²

The policies name “the Authority” for value disputes. It has since merged into CBUAE.

The English additional deductible clause reads “the Insured may charge the Insured”. The Arabic says the insurer may charge the insured.¹² The excess page covers the schedule. Under the L&D, an insured who drives the car before repair bears any increased damage (Ch 3 cl 2).¹

Whichever policy pays, a repair centre may not repair a vehicle with signs of accident or damage without a repair permit from the traffic authority or whoever it authorises (Art 28).³ Ask your insurer or your emirate’s report channel how the permit is issued.

Loss of use runs from delivery of three things

The owner of a private car claiming as a third party is entitled to a loss of use allowance. It runs from delivery of the car, the accident report and the deed of title to the insurer. The limit is AED 300 a day for a maximum of 15 days. None is paid if cash compensation is chosen, and the insurer may supply a similar car instead (TPL Ch 2 cl 1(d)).²

A driver with both L&D and a third party claim may claim loss of use from their own insurer, which recovers from the at-fault insurer (L&D Ch 1 cl 13, TPL Ch 2 cl 1(d) Fifth).¹

Some facts can remove or reverse a payment

• Accepting liability. Neither the insured nor anyone acting for them may accept liability, promise or pay without the insurer’s written consent (TPL Ch 3 cl 3).² The L&D excludes loss where the insurer loses subrogation because the insured declared responsibility for an accident they did not cause (Ch 4 cl 11).¹
• Late notice. An insurer may not refuse compensation for late notification if the delay has an acceptable excuse (L&D Ch 1 cl 6, TPL Ch 1 cl 21).
• Expired licence. A driver who renews within 30 days from the accident date stays within the driver definition (L&D definitions and Ch 4 cl 6, TPL Ch 5 cl 5). L&D Ch 5 cl 4 lists an expired licence as a recourse case without repeating the 30 days.
• Recovery from the driver. Insurers may seek recovery from the insured or driver in listed cases, including driving without a valid licence, driving under the influence and intentional accidents (TPL Ch 5, L&D Ch 5).
• Outside the UAE. The TPL does not apply outside the State (Ch 1 cl 2). See Oman and GCC cover.
• Natural disasters. Both baseline wordings list natural disasters in their exclusions (TPL Ch 4 cl 2, L&D Ch 4 cl 9). The flood guide treats that wording and the wider sources on it.

The insurer must decide in writing

Under Article 9 of IA Resolution 3 of 2010, in force since 21 March 2010:⁵

• Claim forms are free, and the insurer must define the required documents and an appropriate settlement period (Art 9(1)).
• Claims must be settled without undue delay (Art 9(2)).
• Progress must be given on request (Art 9(3)).
• The insurer must notify approval or rejection within 15 days of receiving complete documents, or tell the client of a longer period with reasons (Art 9(4)).
• Agreed amounts are paid without delay (Art 9(5)).
• Rejection must be in writing with specific reasons. It may not rest only on a missed procedure or data, unless needed to verify the accident, its size or the recourse right (Art 9(6)).
• Undisputed items may be claimed while others are disputed (Art 9(8)).

Federal Decree-Law 6 of 2025 Art 148(3) requires insurers to process claims per contract and law, decide, and give written reasons for rejection.¹⁰

A rejected or disputed claim goes to the insurer as a complaint, then to Sanadak. Insurance disputes cannot go to court unless first presented to the committees (Art 148(8)). The steps are in the Sanadak guide.

Motor and transportation claims paid rose in 2024

These market aggregates say nothing about any insurer or claim.²⁵