Daman rating strengthens PureHealth insurance push

PureHealth’s insurance arm, The National Insurance Company – Daman, has secured an A1 Insurance Financial Strength Rating from Moody’s Ratings with a stable outlook, marking a major credit milestone for Abu Dhabi’s expanding healthcare and insurance platform.

The rating is the highest Insurance Financial Strength Rating assigned by Moody’s to a UAE insurer and the highest across the GCC among life, property and casualty, and reinsurance companies. It places Daman in a stronger position as PureHealth accelerates its strategy of combining healthcare provision, insurance coverage and digital health services under one platform.

Moody’s cited Daman’s market position, profitability, capital adequacy, reinsurance support and liquid investment portfolio as key drivers of the rating. The stable outlook reflects expectations that the company will maintain asset quality, underwriting profitability, liquidity buffers and capital strength even as it expands premiums and diversifies beyond its traditional health insurance base.

Daman is one of the central assets in PureHealth’s “Cover” vertical, which has become a key contributor to the group’s earnings profile. PureHealth reported 2025 revenue of about AED27.2 billion, with net profit of roughly AED2 billion. Its insurance business recorded revenue of AED7.8 billion, up 13.5 per cent year on year, while gross written premiums rose 9 per cent to AED7.6 billion. Membership increased 6 per cent to about 3.4 million.

The rating comes as Daman broadens its business from a health-focused insurer into a multi-line operator. The company adopted its current legal name in May 2025 to reflect expansion into wider insurance lines, starting with property and casualty products. That move followed earlier diversification through the Daman Gratuity and Employee Benefits Trust, launched in 2024.

The expansion gives PureHealth a broader risk pool and a route into insurance segments that are expected to grow with corporate demand, population expansion and infrastructure spending across the emirates. It also reduces reliance on medical insurance alone, where margins can be affected by claims inflation, pricing pressure and regulatory requirements.

Daman’s strength remains closely linked to its standing in Abu Dhabi’s health insurance system. Established in 2006, the company has developed into a leading provider of mandatory and enhanced health cover, serving government, corporate and individual customers. Its scale gives it access to large volumes of claims data, provider relationships and enrolment flows that smaller insurers may find difficult to match.

PureHealth’s structure gives Daman an added strategic role. The group operates hospitals, clinics, diagnostics, pharmacies and insurance services, creating a payer-provider model that is uncommon in the region. This can support cost management, patient navigation and service integration, though it also raises the need for clear governance around claims handling, provider choice and pricing transparency.

The UAE health insurance market is expanding as mandatory coverage, population growth, medical inflation and higher demand for private healthcare lift premiums. Market estimates place the UAE health and medical insurance sector at about $9.3 billion in 2025, with forecasts pointing to continued growth over the next several years. The sector remains competitive, with national and international insurers seeking share in employer-backed schemes, individual policies and specialist cover.

The rating also has implications for Daman’s ability to negotiate reinsurance, win large corporate accounts and support new product lines. A stronger financial strength rating can reassure policyholders, brokers, regulators and counterparties that an insurer has the capacity to meet obligations. It can also reduce friction when entering more capital-intensive lines such as property and casualty insurance.

PureHealth’s insurance momentum follows a period of active expansion for the broader group. The company has built scale across healthcare assets in the UAE and overseas, including hospitals and specialist networks, while positioning itself around preventive health, longevity and integrated care. Its model depends on converting scale into efficiency without diluting service quality or exposing the balance sheet to excessive acquisition or claims risk.