How to complain about a UAE car insurer through Sanadak

This page is not legal advice. Sanadak’s own pages are undated. Details are as of 6 November 2026.

Insurance disputes must go to Sanadak before court

Sanadak is the Ombudsman Unit set up by CBUAE regulation, with independent legal personality. The Regulation, N 1659/2023, took effect on 15 March 2023 and shows as In-Force. Its text still says Ombudsman Unit.¹ Federal Decree-Law 6 of 2025 requires an independent unit to receive, hear, adjudicate and issue binding resolutions on complaints against banks and insurers (Art 148(2)).²

Sanadak says complainants against insurers must come to it first, not the courts, while complainants against banks can go direct to court.³ Sanadak lists car insurance among the products it can assist with.³ All insurers holding a CBUAE licence fall under its jurisdiction.⁴

The order has ten steps

1. A claim is rejected or a dispute arises. The insurer must give written reasons (FDL 6 of 2025 Art 148(3), IA Resolution 3 of 2010 Art 9(6)).⁵
2. File a formal complaint with the insurer. Keep any written acknowledgement. The Consumer Protection Standards set 2 complete business days for licensed financial institutions.⁶ Whether that binds insurers is covered in the next section.
3. Wait for the final response. The waiting period is in the next section.
4. Check Sanadak’s eligibility questions.⁷
5. Submit on the Sanadak website or app, with documents. Filing is free.
6. Sanadak acknowledges within 3 business days, then accepts or rejects in writing.⁸
7. If accepted, Sanadak reviews and may ask either party for information.
8. Sanadak issues a written determination: upheld, partially upheld or rejected (Regulation 4.7.1).⁹
9. If the consumer accepts, the case closes within 5 working days. An appeal goes to the Insurance Dispute Resolution Committee within 30 complete business days, for AED 500.
10. Above AED 100,000, a resolution may be challenged at the Court of Appeal within 30 days (Art 148(7)).

Insurers must tell consumers in writing of their right to go to Sanadak and give its contact details (Regulation 4.3.7).

Three waiting periods are published

u.ae, updated 28 October 2026, gives 15 calendar days. Check which period applies today on the live eligibility tool or 800 SANADAK.

Regulation 4.1.2(3) names insurance companies directly.

The Standards address Licensed Financial Institutions. The Consumer Protection Regulation behind them defines that term by the 2018 law and its Article 65 activities.¹¹ BSA Law wrote in 2021 that Article 65 does not list insurance and that the position on insurers had not been clarified.¹² Federal Decree-Law 6 of 2025 now includes (Re)Insurance Companies in its definition of Licensed Financial Institutions.² The texts do not say whether the Standards now bind insurers.

A fourth period sits on the insurer’s side. Article 10(2) of IA Resolution 3 of 2010 tells an insurer to investigate and decide each complaint within 15 days of submission and completion of its requirements.⁵

Sanadak’s timeline has seven published stages

Sanadak tracks a case through the portal, SMS and email.⁸ Its FAQ adds the app and website, and a contact centre option for elderly consumers and people of determination.³ Sanadak must be able to communicate in English or Arabic, as the complainant prefers (Regulation 4.1.11).⁹ The full run from accident to court is in the claim clock.

How long could your complaint take?

Arabian Business reported in October 2025 that Sanadak had cut complaint resolution from 30 to 15 working days.¹³ Emirates 24|7 gave up to 15 working days on 1 November 2026.¹⁴ Neither splits banks from insurers, and the Regulation does not set that figure.⁹

Adding the published periods gives about 5 weeks to a Sanadak outcome on the shortest wait, and about 19 weeks to a committee decision if every period runs to its limit.

These are targets, not guarantees. A request for more information can add up to 10 business days,⁸ and Sanadak says the committee’s 20 days may be extended.³

Sanadak’s limit and the policy’s lawsuit limit are separate

A complaint must reach Sanadak within the later of 3 years from the conduct and 2 years from awareness of it (Regulation 4.4.1). Sanadak may take a late complaint if it considers that fair (Regulation 4.4.3). The Unified policies bar lawsuits after 3 years (L&D Ch 1 cl 11, TPL Ch 7 cl 2).^15,16 The start wording differs between the two policies, and between the Arabic and English TPL. The claims guide shows each wording and Art 966 of the Civil Transactions Law. Whether a Sanadak complaint pauses a 3-year period is not stated in Article 4 of the Regulation or in the policies. The Civil Transactions Law suspends the period for an acceptable excuse (Art 437) and interrupts it by a judicial claim or proceeding (Art 440). It does not name Sanadak.¹⁷

Who can complain and what Sanadak can reject

The applicant must be a natural person, sole proprietor or small to medium enterprise, must have filed an official complaint with the insurer, must not be in court, and the complaint must not be a duplicate.⁷

Eligible conduct is the provision of a product or service, discriminatory refusal of service, and financial loss through deceptive, misleading, fraudulent or unfair conduct (Regulation 4.1.1).⁹

The texts differ on an injured third party with no policy with the insurer. Regulation 4.1.3 says any complainant with an interest, and Article 1 defines Complainant to include an actual or potential beneficiary.¹ Art 148 says customer.² Ask Sanadak or CBUAE whether a third party can file.

A rejected complaint can be refiled if the reason is addressed, more than one complaint may be filed, and a complaint can be withdrawn at any time in writing.³ Sanadak must give reasons in writing within 5 business days of deciding not to review a complaint (Regulation 4.1.9).⁹

Filing is free and an appeal costs AED 500

Complaints are free for consumers and SMEs. An appeal is AED 500, charged to the appellant.³ The Chief Ombudsman may waive all fees for complainants with little or no means (Regulation 4.2.2). An insurer may not try to recover its complaint costs from the complainant (Regulation 4.3.3(5)).⁹

Sources differ on the refund. One FAQ answer says appeal fees “will be refunded” when the determination favours the appellant.³ The resolution page calls the fee “refundable” if the appeal ends in the appellant’s favour.⁸ The Regulation and Sanadak’s institutions page make it discretionary.^4,1

A determination can be appealed to a committee of judges and experts

Remedies include directing a change of conduct, giving reasons, and recommending a reasonable amount for actual loss. The insurer must comply in the period set and report action within 14 business days after it (Regulation 4.10).

Either party may appeal to the Insurance Dispute Resolution Committee within 30 complete business days. Otherwise the determination is final and enforceable (Regulation 4.8.1, 4.8.2).⁹ Sanadak says the appeals committee aims to decide within 20 working days once it has all documents, and that this may be extended.³ Each committee is headed by a judge, with another judge and one or more experts (Art 148(5)).²

The AED 100,000 line replaced AED 50,000

• Disputes up to AED 100,000: committee resolutions are final and enforceable against insurers (Art 148(6)).
• Disputes above AED 100,000: the resolution is not immediately final. The institution and concerned party may challenge it before the competent Court of Appeal within 30 days of issue or knowledge (Art 148(7)).

An AED 50,000 figure appears in Art 101 of Federal Decree-Law 48 of 2023.¹⁸ That law shows as repealed. Federal Decree-Law 6 of 2025 gives AED 100,000.

Two Sanadak pages place the committee differently

The Regulation and Sanadak’s resolution page put Sanadak’s review first, then the appeal to the committee.⁸ Sanadak’s institutions page says the committee “is the first instance of any complaint about Insurance Companies”.⁴

Value disputes have a separate surveyor clause

Under the Unified policies, a dispute over the value of damage or the amount of compensation goes to a surveyor and loss adjuster appointed by “the Authority”, at the insurer’s expense (L&D Ch 2 cl 8, TPL Ch 1 cl 19).¹⁶ Ask CBUAE how that route works now that the Authority has merged into it. Ask Sanadak whether a dispute about market value or depreciation counts as provision of a service, or goes to the surveyor route first. The total loss page covers the depreciation terms.

Contact details differ inside Sanadak’s FAQ

One FAQ answer gives a number and office that do not match the rest of the site. Another answer and the institutions page give 800 SANADAK (8007262325) and the Consumer Happiness Center, Emirates Institute of Finance building, Sector E25, P15/A, Abu Dhabi.⁴ Insurance complaints are filed through the smart services login linked from the FAQ.³

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