Who drives the most expensive cars in the UAE?

ServiceMarket, the UAE’s largest online portal for home services, recently analysed the data entered by customers on its car insurance comparison portal. Using a sample of 7,000 clients that have used ServiceMarket in 2017 to receive car insurance quotations and buy policies online, the Dubai based startup has identified 7 interesting car and insurance trends in the UAE.

1. Female Emiratis drive the most expensive cars: When looking at average car values the data shows that Emirati drivers own the most expensive cars, closely followed by Western expats.

A further breakdown of the data by gender reveals an interesting picture: Female Emirati drivers are looking to insure cars that are around 25% more expensive than their male compatriots, with an average car value above Dh125,000.

With Western expats the roles are reversed. Overall, male drivers have a higher average car value compared to female drivers.

2. UAE drivers are very last minute: Close to a third (30%) of clients using the portal are looking to buy their car insurance within a day of their registration renewal date.

However, it is possible that online aggregators such as ServiceMarket attract more people looking to get their policy on the same day given the convenience and speed of buying car insurance online.

Interestingly, Asian expats start looking for car insurance the most in advance, while Emirati and GCC nationals typically start shopping for car insurance closer to the expiry date of their policy.

3. Many young drivers own expensive cars: The data analysed by ServiceMarket supports the general perception that there are plenty of young drivers with expensive cars on Dubai and Abu Dhabi roads. Around 15% of drivers below 25 years, and 10% aged between 25 to 35, are looking to insure cars worth more than Dh150,000.

4. Dubai residents are the most keen to buy online: Buying car insurance online is most popular with Dubai residents, followed by residents of Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

The majority of residents of the Northern Emirates still prefer traditional ways of buying car insurance. However ServiceMarket has registered more interest from these Emirates compared to last year.

5. More than half of all cars are less than 4 years old: Over half (55%) of customers looking for car insurance on ServiceMarket are driving cars that are either brand new or have been first registered in the last 3 years.

Currently 2015 models are the most common.

6. Men and women prefer different car models: While cars such as the Mitsubishi Pajero are equally common amongst male and female drivers, the data gathered by ServiceMarket suggests that the Kia Sportage and Nissan Juke are particularly popular with female drivers, whereas Honda’s Civic and Accord models are more often insured with male drivers.

7. All nationalities are buying online: It is clear that comparing and purchasing car insurance online is gaining more and more popularity.

But what is particularly interesting is that the appeal is universal, with UAE drivers turning to online aggregators irrespective of their cultural background. At an overall level, the ServiceMarket client base closely resembles the wider UAE demographics in terms of nationalities.

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