About

Insurance Advisor is a personal blog about how insurance actually works in the United Arab Emirates — written in plain English, by one person, for people who want to understand their cover before they need it.

Who writes this

My name is Syed Muhammad Raza Shah. I am based in Dubai and have spent twelve years working in the UAE insurance market. I hold an MBA.

This website is a personal project, written and maintained by me alone. It is not the website of any insurer, broker, or employer, and nothing published here is written on anyone else’s behalf.

Why this site exists

Most insurance content stops at the point of sale. It compares premiums, ranks providers, and then goes quiet — which is unhelpful, because almost every difficult moment in insurance happens after you have bought the policy.

People discover that a treatment was outside the network. That an excess applied where they did not expect one. That a waiting period had not finished. That the wording said something different to what they remembered being told. By then the decision has already been made, and the options are narrow.

So the focus here is deliberately on the parts people find out about late: exclusions, waiting periods, network limits, deductibles, claim procedures, and the specific places where cover tends to fall short of expectations.

What I write about

  • Medical insurance — networks, co-insurance, deductibles, pre-existing conditions, waiting periods, and how claims are assessed.
  • Car insurance — what actually moves your premium, comprehensive versus third party, agency repair, betterment, and how motor claims are handled.
  • General liability — third-party and product liability, where small businesses are exposed, and what these policies do and do not cover.

How I work

Each article takes one question at a time, researches it properly, and sets out the answer in language that does not assume you already speak insurance. Where something is genuinely uncertain or varies by insurer, I say so rather than smoothing it over.

I use AI tools to help with research and drafting. Every article is reviewed, edited, and checked against my own experience of the UAE market before it is published, and I am responsible for everything that appears here.

Where an article contains affiliate links or is sponsored, it is labelled. Advertising on this site is served by third-party networks and does not influence what I write. Our Terms of Service set this out in full.

What this site is not

This is an educational blog, not an advisory service. I do not sell insurance through this website, arrange cover, place policies, or handle claims. Nothing here is financial, insurance, legal, or medical advice, and none of it has been written with knowledge of your particular circumstances.

Before you buy, renew, change, or cancel a policy, speak to a licensed insurance broker or insurer authorised in your jurisdiction who can look at your actual situation. In the UAE, insurers and brokers are regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections, or a topic you would like covered? I read everything and reply personally.

If you have spotted something on this site that is wrong or out of date, please tell me. I would rather correct it than leave it standing.