Answers
Is life insurance mandatory for a mortgage in the UAE?
A short answer, with the article it comes from.
The answer
Whether you need it is the bank's decision, not the Central Bank's, and your loan documents should state the insurance requirement. Where a bank makes insurance a mandatory part of the loan, it must disclose its purpose and cost in writing and let you choose an insurer from at least three it has approved.
CBUAE Circular 31/2013 Article 4; CBUAE Consumer Protection Standards Clauses 2.1.3.13 to 2.1.3.16; CBUAE Regulation 29/2011 clarifications to Articles 10 and 11; checked 2 October 2026.
Article 4 of the mortgage circular lists the "insurance requirement" among the things loan documentation should include. It does not set a requirement itself, so the answer for your loan is in your own paperwork.
The Consumer Protection Standards govern how insurance is sold with a loan. Where cover is a mandatory component, the bank must disclose its purpose and cost in writing, tell you that you may choose a provider "from minimum choice of 3 insurance/takaful providers approved by the Licensed Financial Institution", and say whether its own insurer belongs to the same group. Where insurance is offered rather than required, you must be told in writing that you may accept or reject it.
If you add the premium to the loan, the bank must tell you the extra interest that creates. The Central Bank's clarifications to Regulation 29/2011 put it plainly: "Loans and insurance are separate products", and it is your choice whether to pay for insurance over the loan or upfront.
Insurance is part of the true cost of a mortgage and is often missing from rate comparisons. A specialist can set it out bank by bank for your age and loan.
Whether life or property insurance is required is set by each bank and is lender practice.
Rules are the easy part. Your file is the question.
Want insurance included in the comparison? Talk to a Specialist.