A new report from market intelligence firm NielsenIQ (NIQ) reveals that rising insurance premiums are reshaping consumer behaviour across the UAE, as individuals rethink spending patterns and adopt strategies aimed at long-term financial stability.

According to the report, over half of surveyed consumers reported an increase in insurance premiums, with more than 80 per cent expecting further hikes —particularly in the auto sector.

This has led to a surge in interest for cost-effective solutions, including loyalty rewards, no-claims discounts, and policies with reduced coverage.

“While inflation is beginning to ease, its impact on household budgets remains,” said Rahul Dixit, Strategic Analytics & Insights leader for the Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan at NIQ. “Consumers are adapting by redefining what value means to them — favouring durability, longevity, and predictability in their purchases.”

Key findings from the insurance themed survey

The findings are based on an online survey of 300 UAE-based car owners conducted in March 2025, with a 4.75 per cent margin of error at a 90 per cent confidence level.

As part of this shift in mindset, 76 per cent of UAE consumers expressed a strong interest in securing multi-year fixed-rate auto insurance policies as a hedge against future price volatility.

The report also found that 70 per cent of consumers are willing to pay a premium for products offering durability and longevity, indicating a broader trend toward strategic spending.

This sentiment is echoed across the Middle East and Africa, where 76 per cent of consumers are seeking additional income streams beyond their primary jobs to counteract economic pressure.

NIQ emphasised that businesses must bridge the “say-do” gap — the difference between consumer intentions and actual behaviour — through data-driven insights.

Traditional methods like discounts or heightened advertising are increasingly insufficient in a market where value is defined by context, timing, and subconscious factors.

As consumers in the UAE and wider region become more discerning, the report suggests that companies capable of aligning with evolving expectations stand to gain a competitive edge in a shifting economic landscape.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the operating hours for all its services during the Eid Al Adha holiday for the Hijri year 1446H (2025). The timings apply to Customer Happiness Centres, public transport, paid parking zones, marine services, and technical testing centres.

Read-Eid Al Adha 2025: UAE, GCC countries declare holidays

Customer Happiness Centres

All Customer Happiness Centres will remain closed during the Eid Al Adha break. However, Smart Customer Happiness Centres at Umm Ramool, Deira, Al Barsha, and the RTA Head Office will continue to operate 24/7.

Technical testing centres

Service provider centres offering technical testing will be closed from June 5 to 7 2025.

Technical testing services will resume at select centres—Tasjeel Al Tawar, AutoPro Al Mankhool, Tasjeel Al Awir, Al Yalayis, and Shamil Muhaisnah—on Sunday, June 8.

All services, including transaction processing, will resume across all centres on Monday, June 9, 2025, as per regular working hours.

Dubai Metro

Metro stations on both the Red and Green Lines will operate from Wednesday, June 4 to Saturday, June 7 2025, between 5:00am and 1:00am the following day.

Dubai Tram

Tram services will run from 6:00am to 1:00am (next day) from June 4 to 7, 2025.

Public Buses (Dubai Bus)

Holiday bus schedules will be available on the S’hail app.

Note:

• Route E100 will be suspended from Al Ghubaiba Bus Station between June 4 and 8.
• Commuters can use E101 from Ibn Battuta Bus Station to Abu Dhabi.
• Route E102 will run directly from Al Jafiliya Bus Station to Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, bypassing Ibn Battuta and Musaffah.

Marine Transport

Marine transport service schedules can be accessed via the official RTA website.

Public parking

Parking will be free across public zones from June 5 to 8 2025. This excludes multi-level parking terminals, where normal charges will apply.

Business software giant Salesforce is stepping up its operations in the Middle East.

The global CRM and AI powerhouse has more than doubled its regional team in the past three months, expanded technical operations, and is investing heavily across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

This is according to Mohammed Alkhotani, Salesforce’s senior vice president and general manager for the Middle East, who spoke to Gulf Business on the sidelines of the company’s Agentforce World Tour Dubai event.

“Our expectation is to grow the business three times over the coming four to five years,” Alkhotani said. “This isn’t just a commercial office: we’ve tripled down on solution engineers and technical capacity.”

The company has opened a new UAE office, committed to a $500m investment in Saudi Arabia, and is establishing local data centres in both countries in collaboration with AWS. It is also launching an AI Innovation Centre with IBM and working with regional universities to embed Salesforce certifications into curricula to meet surging demand for talent.

Flagship event

That ambition was on full display last week at Agentforce World Tour Dubai, Salesforce’s flagship regional event held at Madinat Jumeirah. More than 3,000 customers, partners and associates gathered to explore AI’s transformative role in sectors ranging from retail and real estate to education and energy.

The event featured a powerhouse line-up of keynote speakers, including Alkhotani; Marco Hernansanz, Salesforce’s executive vice president and CEO for Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa; Maha Alaoui, head of solution engineering for MEA; Polly Summer, chief adoption officer; and Olfa Kharrat, director of product management for AI and Agentforce. Each brought insights into how Salesforce is fusing AI, data and CRM to help organisations transform at scale.

Customers such as the National Bank of Kuwait, Aldar Education, and Engie took the stage to showcase how they’ve used Salesforce tools — Agentforce, Data Cloud, and Customer 360 — to digitise operations and deliver better customer experiences.

“This event has offered the ideal opportunity to showcase the power of Agentforce to transform organisations with autonomous AI agents that complement human employees,” said Alkhotani. “It’s about delivering new levels of efficiency and customer experience.”

A central theme of the day was AI, and specifically, the rise of digital labour.

With sales reps in the UAE spending just 27 per cent of their week engaging with customers, businesses are increasingly looking to automate repetitive, low-value tasks. According to Salesforce’s own research, 75 per cent of UAE sales teams have either implemented or are experimenting with AI.

“41 per cent of the workforce face low-value tasks daily,” Alkhotani said. “Digital labour supports your team, or acts by itself, to do those tasks for you and achieve better customer service.”

Salesforce’s own deployment of Agentforce internally has shown the value of this approach.

“We implemented Agentforce for our service employees, and we were able to reduce escalations by 50 per cent,” he said. “It now handles more than 50,000 conversations a week and analyses over 850,000 articles weekly.”

Making AI work

So how should organisations start preparing themselves to deploy AI effectively?

“Start with the business,” said Alkhotani. “See what the needs are. How do you dream your business would interact with clients in a year or two? Then work backward. Which AI? How many agents? Which data and interactions? What architecture?”

On whether companies in the region are adapting to the current AI wave, Alkhotani had this insight to offer.

“Many are understandably perplexed by AI and how to deploy it effectively,” he said. “Some approach it as a tech project, building infrastructure without tying it to real use cases. But the key is to focus on the business impact: on what application sits on top and supports which function.”

Alkhotani’s message was clear: in a region racing to embrace digital transformation, AI is no longer optional. Businesses that wait risk falling behind.

“The performance will be better, faster, more accurate,” he said. “Investing in digital labour is not an option. It’s a necessity.”

Airbus delivered around 51 airplanes in May, industry sources said, down 4 per cent from the same month last year.

The tally brings deliveries so far this year to around 243 aircraft, down 5 per cent from the first five months of 2024.

Read-Flyadeal confirms Airbus jet order for long-haul expansion

Airbus declined comment ahead of a monthly performance bulletin on June 5.

The world’s largest planemaker faces growing pressure from airlines over delays in deliveries as it aims for a 7 per cent increase in handovers to customers for the full year to 820 aircraft.

Airlines holding their annual gathering in New Delhi this week criticised manufacturers for supply problems that have persisted for several years since the pandemic.

Airbus has said it expects the delays, caused in part by slow arrivals of engines, to stabilise during the summer.

Dubai-based airline flydubai resumed operations to Syria on Saturday, marking the return of direct air connectivity between the two countries after a nearly 12-year suspension.

The inaugural flight, FZ 115, landed at Damascus International Airport (DAM) on June 1, receiving a traditional water cannon salute. The daily service will depart from Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport (DXB).

The resumption of flights underscores improving ties between the UAE and Syria.

The UAE’s Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic, Hassan Ahmed Al Shehhi, was on hand to welcome the flight, accompanied by a delegation that included Abdul Bari Al-Saj, deputy chairman of the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority, and Amjad Nakhkhal, the authority’s director.

Resumed flydubai operations mark return of relations

“This milestone reflects the deep-rooted and fraternal relations between the UAE and Syria and underscores the UAE’s continued efforts to enhance regional and international air connectivity,” said Al Shehhi. “The return of flydubai’s operations also signals a promising step toward the full return of UAE national carriers to Syria.”

flydubai’s CCO, Hamad Obaidalla, said the airline is committed to strengthening regional connectivity and sees Syria as an important cultural and economic hub.

“We are very pleased to offer our passengers the opportunity to fly directly to Syria again,” Obaidalla said. “We look forward to serving the market and stimulating free flows of travel, trade and tourism between the two countries.”

Flights will operate daily between Dubai and Damascus, with the carrier aiming to serve both leisure and business travellers.