The 5 Best Term Life Insurance Plans in UAE for 2025

Securing your family’s financial future is one of the most important responsibilities you can fulfill as a breadwinner.

It ensures peace of mind for both you and your loved ones, knowing that they are financially secure no matter what the future holds. Term life insurance in the UAE is a simple and affordable solution that provides financial protection and international coverage, with optional riders to enhance the policy’s scope.

With over 12 years of experience as an independent financial advisor in the UAE, I’ve helped hundreds of clients find the best term life insurance tailored to their budgets and financial goals.

Let’s explore the top 5 plans, their features and benefits. 

What is Term Insurance?

Term life insurance is an affordable risk-cover policy that pays a cash lump sum in the event of death during the policy term. Unlike whole life or endowment plans, term insurance focuses on protection rather than savings or investments.

• Duration: Covers you for a specific number of years
• No Surrender Value: It has no cash surrender or maturity value, because you only pay to cover the risk.
• Key Benefit: Provides a high sum assured at a minimal cost.

How does the term Life Insurance work?

Term life insurance is an efficient way to transfer risk from your shoulders to that of an insurance company. You can buy a policy by paying a small regular or one-time premium. This ensures your family gets a cash lump sum if you pass away.

Insurance companies collect premiums from many policy holders like you to create a life fund.

They invest this money in assets that grow in value so that they can pay claims when they arise.

Why buy Term Insurance in UAE?

Term life insurance has become an essential financial tool in the UAE because of its affordability and practical benefits. Here’s why it’s a must-have:

Global Coverage: Provides international coverage, including the USA, ensuring you remain protected even if you relocate.

Seamless Integration with your Financial Plan: Term insurance is efficient and simple. It complements your investments for retirement, child education, and other important goals. 

Tax Efficiency: Offers tax-free payouts to beneficiaries, ensuring your family receives the full benefit of the policy.

Currency Options: You can get policies in AED, USD, GBP, or EUR. These protect you from currency risks and keep your family’s finances safe.

Lower Premiums: Cost-effective compared to whole life and endowment plans, with premiums starting as low as $17.50/month.

Customizable Riders: Enhance your policy with riders such as critical illness, accidental death, and permanent disability.

Guaranteed Premiums: Fixed premiums for the policy duration, offering budget predictability.

Ease of Claims: A streamlined claims process ensures quick payouts during challenging times, reducing stress for your family. 

Hassle-Free Process: Quick applications with medical tests conducted at home or office.

Top 5 Term Life Insurance Plans in UAE for 2025

1. International Term Assurance(ITA) from Zurich International Life Ltd.
2. Live Life from MetLife
3. International Protector Middle East(IPME) from FPI
4. Lifeguard - from Sukoon (previously Oman Insurance) 
5. Hemaya Plus - Family Takaful Term Plan from Salama

Option 1 - International Term Assurance(ITA) from Zurich International Life Ltd.

First on the list is the term insurance plan from Zurich International Life. This plan provides a cover for a maximum term of 35 years and covers up to age 80. Zurich Term Insurance provides the following riders on its term insurance;

• Critical illness benefit (34 Conditions) with the widest scope of coverage
• Permanent and Total Disability Benefit 
• Waiver of Premium benefit 

Benefits of Zurich Term Insurance 

• Easy Application and at your home medical tests
• Life or Earliest Critical Illness Cover option available
• Wide scope of critical illness cover
• Cover up to age 80
• Multiple premium payment options, including Standing order on your credit card in AED 
• Strong International Insurance company with robust financials
• Fast and Efficient Claim Process
• Click here to view the latest 2024 claims report
• Efficient after-sales service and claims processing 
• Option to appoint contingent beneficiaries
• Can switch frequency from monthly to annual and vice versa

Challenges with Zurich term insurance 

• Maximum 35 years of cover
• Only Annual and Monthly premium payment facilities are available
• Riders like accidental death or partial disability benefits are not available 

Click here to learn more about International Term Assurance from Zurich International Life.

Option 2 - Live Life from MetLife

Next on the list is the Live Life term plan from MetLife UAE. It provides financial protection for you and your family when you are unable to provide for them due to critical illness or death. The maximum policy term is 30 years and the maximum age of cover is 85.

This plan gives you two options to choose from;

1. Decreasing Term Insurance with amortization rates 0%, 4%, 6% or 8%
2. Level Term Insurance: A regular term plan with a maximum term of 25 years  

The live life plan also has three premium payment options to select from

1. Single Pay: You can pay the whole premium as a single lump-sum payment. Although this is the most cost-effective option, it is not viable considering the time value of money.
   
   Also, pre-paying life insurance is generally a bad idea.
   
   However, it can be useful for ex-pats looking for international cover but unsure if they can continue to pay premiums when they move out of the UAE.
2. Limited Pay: You can choose to pay premiums for 50% of the policy term. For eg: If your policy term is 10 years, then our Premium term would be 5 years. This option helps ex-pats pay their insurance premiums faster while they are living and working in the UAE.
3. Regular Pay: The regular pay option is where you pay premiums up to the selected policy term. This option is ideal for residents looking to buy term life insurance with premiums. 

In addition to the usual riders, Live Life provides a Unique rider called Forever Plan.

It provides the insured with a lifetime monthly income in case of Permanent Partial Disability or Permanent Total Disability resulting from an Accident or Sickness. (Minimum guaranteed period of 20 years)

Live Life also provides a free second medical opinion service and a medical discount card.

Option 3 - International Protector Middle East(IPME) from Friends Provident International.

International Protector Middle East is an award-winning Term Insurance plan from Friends Provident International. It provides you with three different cover options to choose from:

1. Stand-alone life cover
2. Stand-alone critical illness cover;
3. Life cover or earlier critical illness cover

The premiums for IPME are very affordable, and they start at $17.50 per month.

Like Live-life, IPME also provides limited and regular pay premium payment options. 

Free Second Opinion

Friends Provident International (FPI) also provides the world-class second medical opinion service provided by ‘Best Doctors®’. This is a free benefit on their International Protector Middle East (IPME) plan.

Click here to know more about IPME from FPI.

Option 4 - Lifeguard - from Sukoon (previously Oman Insurance) 

Sukoon is one of the oldest insurance companies in the UAE, operating since 1975 and with a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) for 2020. Lifeguard is a term insurance plan offering cover for residents between the ages one to 80. It also comes with the level and decreasing term options. 

The unique feature of this plan is that it does not differentiate on premium rates for smokers or nonsmokers. This means the premium rate for smokers will be relatively lower.

The following are the riders on Lifeguard;

• Accidental death benefit
• Permanent total disability
• Critical illnesses covering 40 illnesses (additional or accelerated)
• Waiver of premium on permanent and total disability
• Hospital indemnity benefit

Lifeguard also offers single and regular premium payment modes.

Option 5 - Hemaya Plus - Family Takaful Term Plan from Salama

SALAMA – Islamic Arab Insurance Company is a leading provider of Shari’ah compliant Takaful solutions around the world. Hemaya Plus is a Term plan with the following unique benefits;

• Maximum Age at expiry – 100 Years
• Family Income Benefit
• Accidental Total or Partial Permanent Disability
• Choice of Single or Regular monthly/quarterly/half-yearly/yearly Contribution

It is an ideal solution for residents looking for a Sharia-approved protection plan.

Click here to know more about Hemaya Plus Family Takaful Plan from Salama. 

Best Term Insurance for NRI:

Given the large number of Indians planning to live longer in the UAE, many find themselves in a dilemma about; whether to buy term insurance in India or consider term plans from international insurance companies in the UAE.

While the term insurance premiums may seem attractive in India, they have the following challenges:

• Currency Depreciation: Your cover amount keeps going down with the depreciating rupee.
• Limited Critical Illness Cover: Policies in India may offer less comprehensive critical illness coverage.
• Repatriation Challenges: NRI beneficiaries could face challenges repatriating the insurance proceeds to UAE or to another country.
• Hassles and Delays in Claim Processing: Insurance claims from Indian policies may take longer to process.
• GST on Premiums: Indian term insurance premiums are subject to Goods and Services Tax (GST), increasing the overall cost.
• Longer Application Process: Applications for Indian policies often involve more documentation and time compared to UAE-based plans.

Choosing a term insurance plan from a UAE-based international insurer offers benefits like global coverage, ease of claims, and flexible premium payment options in multiple currencies.

How to Choose the Best Term Insurance in UAE?

If you are considering term insurance, comparing different policies and finding one that meets your needs is important. You should also talk to a financial advisor to get their advice on whether or not term insurance is right for you.

Here are some things to consider when choosing term insurance:

The amount of coverage

The first and most crucial step is determining how much life cover is ideal to protect your family's lifestyle and goals. Book a one to one session or use the Life Insurance calculator to determine your insurance needs.

The length of the term

The length of the term will determine how long you will be covered. If you have young children, you may want to consider a longer term so that your family will be protected for as long as possible. 

Cheap when young

Term Insurance premiums are low when availed at a young age, and the premium increases as the person grows older. Hence youngsters are advised to avail up to 10 - 20 times of annual income as life cover as early as possible.

Doing this ensures that your life cover premiums are locked at the time of purchase of the term insurance.

The following table shows the premiums payable on a Million Dollar life cover over different ages of a non-smoking resident in UAE;

The riders

Riders are optional add-ons that can provide additional benefits, such as coverage for critical illness or accidental death.

Work with the Expert

With over 12 years of experience as an independent financial advisor, I specialize in helping residents choose and buy the best life insurance in UAE

Here’s how I can assist you;

• Develop a holistic financial plan and assess your protection requirements.
• Evaluate and compare multiple providers to secure the best term life insurance options.
• Personalize policies with riders that align with your financial goals.
• Streamline the application process to ensure a hassle-free experience.
• Conduct regular reviews to keep your protection up-to-date. 
• Provide guidance and support during the claims process. 

Take the first step today.

Book your free consultation now!

Click here to Book a Discovery Call