Car insurance in the UAE does get cheaper as a vehicle ages — but far more so for comprehensive cover than for third-party, and the two curves separate early.
Lookinsure analysed 26,823 issued UAE motor policies with valid vehicle-age data and found that the median comprehensive premium was 33.9% lower for ten-year-old vehicles than for one-year-old vehicles. Over a comparable span, the median third-party liability (TPL) premium fell 15.2% — less than half as much — and then stayed almost flat for a full decade.
The sharper signal is not price at all. It is what motorists buy. Comprehensive cover accounted for 45.7% of issued policies on one-year-old cars and 10.1% on ten-year-old cars. By age thirteen, it was 2.7%.
These findings describe associations within policies purchased through Lookinsure. They do not show that vehicle age alone causes a premium to change, and they do not follow the same vehicle or driver over time.
Table of Contents
Key figures at a glance
| Measure | Finding |
|---|---|
| Median comprehensive premium, age 10 vs age 1 | 33.9% lower (AED 2,383.50 → AED 1,575) |
| Median TPL premium, age 9 vs age 1 | 15.2% lower (AED 863.10 → AED 731.85) |
| Comprehensive share of policies at age 10 | 10.1% |
| Comprehensive share of policies at age 13 | 2.7% |
| Policies analysed | 26,823 issued UAE motor policies |
All figures are medians of purchased premiums in AED, from issued policies, analysed on 17 September 2026.
Comprehensive premiums were 33.9% lower at age ten than at age one
Among issued comprehensive policies, the median purchased premium was AED 2,383.50 for one-year-old vehicles. It fell to AED 2,086.35 at age two, AED 1,837.50 at age five and AED 1,575 at age ten.
The difference between age one and age ten was AED 808.50, or 33.9%. Across the first decade, that works out at roughly AED 90 off the median comprehensive premium for each additional year of vehicle age.
| Vehicle age | Median comprehensive premium (AED) |
|---|---|
| 1 year | 2,383.50 |
| 2 years | 2,086.35 |
| 5 years | 1,837.50 |
| 7 years | 1,727.25 |
| 8 years | 1,727.25 |
| 10 years | 1,575.00 |
Most of the decline happened in the first year
The curve is front-loaded. The median fell 12.5% between ages one and two — AED 297.15 of the total AED 808.50 decline, or 36.8% of the ten-year drop, in a single year of ageing.
After that, reductions were generally smaller and not always continuous. The median was unchanged at AED 1,727.25 between ages seven and eight before falling again at ages nine and ten.
Age one is used as the baseline for the headline comparison because its 341-policy cohort is materially stronger than the 54-policy age-zero cohort. The age-ten comprehensive cohort contained 211 policies.
Third-party premiums fell 15.2%, then stayed flat for a decade
TPL policies followed a different shape. The median premium was AED 863.10 for vehicles aged one, two and three years — identical across all three. It then eased down to AED 819 at age five, AED 764.40 at age seven and AED 731.85 at age nine.
That age-one to age-nine difference was AED 131.25, or 15.2% — roughly AED 16 a year, against roughly AED 90 a year for comprehensive cover.
From age ten to age twenty, the median TPL premium stayed inside a band of AED 736.05 to AED 752.85. Across a full decade of additional vehicle age, it moved by less than AED 17.
| Vehicle age | Median TPL premium (AED) |
|---|---|
| 1–3 years | 863.10 |
| 5 years | 819.00 |
| 7 years | 764.40 |
| 9 years | 731.85 |
| 10–20 years | 736.05 – 752.85 |
Most of the observed TPL decline occurred before age ten. After that, the curve was broadly flat through much of the following decade.
The cover motorists buy changes far more than the price
The strongest market-behaviour signal in the data is the changing coverage mix. Comprehensive policies accounted for 45.7% of issued policies on one-year-old vehicles and 31.9% at age five. By age ten the comprehensive share had fallen to 10.1%, and at age thirteen it was 2.7%.
Put another way: for every comprehensive policy issued on a thirteen-year-old car, roughly thirty-six third-party policies were issued. At age thirteen, just 43 of 1,577 issued policies were comprehensive.
| Vehicle age | Total policies | Comprehensive | TPL | Comprehensive share | TPL share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 746 | 341 | 405 | 45.7% | 54.3% |
| 5 years | 1,044 | 333 | 711 | 31.9% | 68.1% |
| 10 years | 2,093 | 211 | 1,882 | 10.1% | 89.9% |
| 13 years | 1,577 | 43 | 1,534 | 2.7% | 97.3% |
This describes purchases completed through Lookinsure, not an estimate of every UAE motorist’s behaviour. Even so, the size and consistency of the shift indicate that any discussion of insurance affordability for older vehicles has to account for which cover motorists actually buy, not only what each cover costs. Percentages may not total exactly 100% because of rounding.
Why a single average premium figure misleads
Blending comprehensive and TPL policies into one average conceals two different relationships and one large compositional shift.
Comprehensive and TPL sit at different price levels, decline at different rates, and stop declining at different points. On top of that, the share of policies that are comprehensive falls from 45.7% to 2.7% between age one and age thirteen. A blended “average premium by vehicle age” would therefore fall steeply — but much of that fall would be the mix changing, not prices changing.
Reporting a blended premium without showing that composition risks attributing a coverage-mix change to pricing alone. Vehicle age should not be discussed without separating the cover type.
What this means for UAE motorists insuring an older car
Vehicle age is relevant, but it is not a price calculator on its own. Premiums also vary with the vehicle’s make, model and value; the driver’s profile and claims history; the insurer; the deductible; the benefits attached; repair conditions; and other underwriting factors. Two cars of the same age can be quoted very differently.
Compare like with like. Comprehensive quotes belong next to comprehensive quotes and TPL next to TPL, with the cover, deductible and exclusions read alongside the price rather than after it. Drivers reviewing their options can compare car insurance quotes in the UAE before deciding which balance of price and protection suits their vehicle.
At age ten, nine in ten Lookinsure motorists choose third-party. That is the market’s default answer for an older car — and for a car worth little more than the difference between the two premiums, it is a reasonable one. It is the wrong answer in two cases: if the car is still financed, where comprehensive cover is commonly a condition of the finance agreement, and if replacing the car out of your own pocket would be a genuine financial problem. At age ten the median comprehensive premium of AED 1,575 was still more than double the top of the TPL band, so the decision is a real trade-off rather than a formality.
Both cover types sit within the framework of the UAE’s Unified Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy, under the supervision of the Central Bank of the UAE. Third-party cover pays for damage you cause to others; comprehensive adds cover for damage to your own vehicle, subject to the policy’s own deductibles, conditions and exclusions. Motorists weighing the two can compare comprehensive and third-party prices side by side for their own vehicle.
What this means for insurers, brokers and publishers
A single headline average is the wrong instrument for this question. Comprehensive and TPL policies have different price levels, different age curves and a changing mix across vehicle ages; any figure that combines them carries all three effects at once without separating them.
For consumer communications, age-based guidance should avoid promising that an individual policy will become cheaper by a fixed percentage. The defensible statement is narrower: within this Lookinsure dataset, older-vehicle cohorts had lower median purchased premiums across the first decade, with a much larger difference for comprehensive cover than for TPL.
Frequently asked questions
Is car insurance cheaper for older cars in the UAE?
Yes, but the size of the difference depends on the cover. In Lookinsure’s data on 26,823 issued policies, the median comprehensive premium was 33.9% lower at age ten than at age one. The median third-party premium fell 15.2% over a comparable span, then stayed nearly flat from age ten to age twenty.
How much does car insurance cost for an older car in the UAE?
For ten-year-old vehicles, the median purchased premium was AED 1,575 for comprehensive cover. Median third-party premiums for vehicles aged ten to twenty sat between AED 736.05 and AED 752.85. These are medians of issued Lookinsure policies; an individual quote depends on the car, the driver and the insurer.
What is the difference between comprehensive and third-party insurance?
Third-party liability cover pays for injury and damage you cause to other people and their property. Comprehensive cover adds protection for damage to your own vehicle. Both operate within the UAE’s Unified Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy framework, and comprehensive consistently costs more — roughly double the third-party median at age ten.
Is comprehensive insurance full coverage?
No. Comprehensive is the broader of the two UAE motor covers, but it is not unlimited. Every comprehensive policy carries its own deductible, conditions, repair terms and exclusions, and benefits such as roadside assistance or off-road cover may be optional add-ons rather than included. Read the schedule before comparing on price alone.
Should I keep comprehensive cover on a ten-year-old car?
Most UAE motorists do not: only 10.1% of policies issued on ten-year-old vehicles were comprehensive. Keep it if the car is financed, or if paying to replace the vehicle yourself would be a serious problem. Otherwise, the median AED 1,575 comprehensive premium buys protection on a depreciated asset.
Methodology
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Population | Issued UAE motor policies purchased through Lookinsure; quotes excluded |
| Records | 26,834 before age validation; 26,823 with valid vehicle age |
| Vehicle age | Policy year minus vehicle model year |
| Price measure | Median purchased premium in AED |
| Cover types | Comprehensive and third-party liability (TPL), analysed separately |
| Analysis date | 17 September 2026 |
The study is descriptive and cross-sectional. Median premium was selected as the primary price measure because it is less affected than the mean by unusually high-priced policies. Sample size was reviewed alongside every reported statistic. The main comprehensive comparison is limited to ages one through ten, where each age cohort contained more than 200 issued policies.
Premiums throughout are purchased-policy medians, not quote averages. The analysis is cross-sectional: it compares different vehicles at different ages at one point in time, rather than tracking one vehicle as it ages.
About this study and how to cite it
This study was produced by Lookinsure Research using first-party issued-policy data from Lookinsure, a UAE digital insurance platform. Journalists and analysts are welcome to reproduce the figures and charts with attribution.
Suggested citation: Lookinsure Research, Car age and insurance costs in the UAE: what 26,823 issued policies reveal, 17 September 2026.
For data queries, additional cuts of the dataset or comment, contact the Lookinsure team.
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