Latest update — August 2026: Federal Decree-Law 14/2024, the UAE's new traffic law, has applied since 29 March 2025 and sharply raised the penalties for leaving an accident scene — up to two years' imprisonment and fines that reach AED 100,000. Abu Dhabi moved all minor-accident reporting to the Saaed app on 1 August 2024, and Sharjah's Rafid hotline now answers on 80092. Since the April 2024 storms, UAE insurers have been instructed to pay storm and flood claims under comprehensive policies whenever the weather event is not officially declared a natural disaster — check the natural-perils line on your own policy schedule.
After a minor car accident in the UAE you do not wait for a patrol car: you move the vehicles out of traffic (obstructing the road at an accident scene carries a fine of AED 1,000), then self-report through your emirate's channel — the Dubai Police app in Dubai, the Saaed app or 800 72233 in Abu Dhabi, the Rafid app or 80092 in Sharjah, and the MOI UAE app or 999 in the northern emirates. The police report that comes back — green if you are not at fault, red/pink if you are, white if the culprit is unknown — is the document your insurer builds the entire claim on, and it is commonly treated as valid for 3 months. If anyone is hurt, none of the app flows apply: call 999 for police and 998 for an ambulance (see our UAE emergency care guide) and do not move the vehicles.
At a Glance
| Situation / Emirate | Channel | Number | Fee (commonly reported) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anyone injured, anywhere | Police + ambulance attend | 999 / 998 | Free |
| Dubai — minor accident | Dubai Police app (also DubaiNow, Smart Police Stations, selected petrol stations) | 901 (non-emergency) | At fault AED 520; unknown party AED 420; not at fault free |
| Abu Dhabi — minor accident | Saaed app (mandatory since 1 Aug 2024) | 800 72233 | Reported between AED 300 and AED 500 — confirm in the app |
| Sharjah — minor accident | Rafid app or hotline | 80092 | Reported around AED 335–440 depending on service — confirm in the app |
| Ajman, RAK, UAQ, Fujairah | MOI UAE app or police patrol | 999 | Varies; patrol reports commonly free for the not-at-fault party |
| Report validity for insurance | All emirates | — | Commonly 3 months from issue |
The First 10 Minutes: Safety, Then Move the Cars
The sequence in the first minutes decides both your safety and your claim:
- Stop. Leaving the scene without exchanging information is treated as fleeing under Federal Decree-Law 14/2024 — courts can impose up to two years' imprisonment and fines widely reported at AED 50,000–100,000 depending on severity. Even for a scratch, drive off and it stops being a fender-bender.
- Check for injuries. Any injury at all: call 999 (police) and 998 (ambulance), switch on hazard lights, and leave the vehicles exactly where they are. Fault reconstruction in injury cases uses the final positions.
- No injuries, cars drivable: photograph, then move. Take wide shots showing both cars' positions and the road, then close-ups of the damage and both plates. Then move the cars to the shoulder or the nearest safe area. The Ministry of Interior recorded 630 fines in 2024 for obstructing traffic at accident scenes — AED 1,000 each; Abu Dhabi Police additionally warn of AED 1,000 and 6 black points for stopping in a live lane without justification.
- Exchange details. The other driver's name, phone number, plate number, and a photo of their driving licence and Mulkiya (registration card) cover everything the apps will ask for.
- Stand clear. The official UAE government guidance is to wait at least 15 metres away from the vehicles, behind a barrier where one exists — secondary collisions on fast roads are the classic second accident.
Do not agree to "settle in cash and skip the report". Repairing accident damage without a police report is illegal in the UAE, and garages are required to ask for the report before touching accident damage.
Reporting a Minor Accident: Dubai
Dubai Police retired patrol attendance for minor collisions years ago; the app flow takes 5–10 minutes at the roadside:
- Open the Dubai Police app (or DubaiNow) and sign in with UAE Pass.
- Choose "Minor Traffic Accident Report".
- Enter the plate number and emirate for every vehicle involved, plus driver licence details.
- Photograph the damage — at least 4 clear angles taken at the scene; take the wide shots before the cars are moved.
- Submit. The report lands by SMS and email — instantly in many cases, within 24 hours for all parties.
No smartphone? Dubai also issues minor-accident reports at its Smart Police Stations (33 self-service branches, 24/7) and through the "On the Go" desks at selected ADNOC, ENOC and Emarat petrol stations, where staff photograph the damage and file the report in 15–20 minutes. For non-emergency questions, Dubai Police answer on 901.
Fees: the at-fault driver pays AED 520 for the report; a report against an unknown vehicle (you found your parked car hit) is AED 420; the not-at-fault driver pays nothing.
Reporting a Minor Accident: Abu Dhabi (Saaed)
Since 1 August 2024, Abu Dhabi Police require all minor accidents in the emirate to be reported through the Saaed app (often spelled Saeed), run by Saaed for Traffic Systems with the General Command of Abu Dhabi Police — and explicitly ask drivers not to call 999 for minor bumps. The flow: move the cars off the road, open the app, choose "Report accident", confirm your phone number (the app auto-detects the location), state whether both drivers agree on fault, then upload photos of both licences, both Mulkiyas, and the damage. You get a confirmation number, and the report reaches the insurers electronically.
If you can't use the app, the Saaed operations room answers on 800 72233 and can dispatch a patrol; injuries still mean 999. Report copies are retrievable on saaed.ae ("Accident Report" inquiry with your report number), via the Abu Dhabi Police website or TAMM. Saaed's services are paid: sources report fees between AED 300 and AED 500 depending on the service (patrol-attended reports at the top of the range, charged to the at-fault side) — confirm the exact amount in the app before paying. Saaed also runs a formal e-service to object to a fault determination, which matters for the claim (more below).
Reporting a Minor Accident: Sharjah (Rafid)
Sharjah outsources minor-accident response to Rafid (Rafid Automotive Solutions, a Sharjah Asset Management company) working with Sharjah Police. Two routes:
- Rafid app: register with your mobile number, choose "Accident Reporting", state whether both parties agree on who's at fault, let the app take your location, enter each vehicle's plate and traffic-code details, upload licences, Emirates IDs and damage photos, and pay the fee. The report is commonly issued within about 15 minutes.
- Call 80092 (the number replaced Rafid's older hotline) — a unit attends, documents the scene, and issues the report. It operates 24/7.
Fees are commonly reported at around AED 385 for an app-reported two-vehicle accident, AED 440 with an attending officer, and AED 335 for unknown-vehicle damage — Rafid revises these, so confirm on rafid.ae or in the app before paying. You can check a report's status in the app with your accident number, or through the 80092 call centre. If you commute across the border daily, note which emirate's system applies: it is always where the collision happened, not where the car is registered.
Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah
The northern emirates use the MOI UAE app (Ministry of Interior): sign in with UAE Pass, choose "Issue a minor traffic accident report", confirm the location pin, enter both vehicles' details, attach damage photos, and receive the report as a smart notification. If the app rejects the case as non-minor, or the other driver won't cooperate, call 999 — operators route to the correct emirate's police, and a patrol attends and issues the report at the scene.
When Police Must Attend (No App Allowed)
Self-reporting is only for genuinely minor cases. A patrol must come — call 999 — when any of these apply:
- Injury or death, however slight the injury seems.
- Fault is disputed and the drivers cannot agree (in Dubai and Sharjah the apps ask this up front; a disagreement routes the case to an officer or an attended report).
- Government or third-party property is damaged — lamp posts, barriers, signage, landscaping.
- A driver has no licence, no insurance, or no plates, or refuses to share details.
- Suspected intoxication. Under Federal Decree-Law 14/2024, drunk driving that causes a death carries a fine starting at AED 100,000 by common legal analyses, plus imprisonment.
- A vehicle is undrivable or the accident blocks a highway.
In these cases, leave the vehicles in place unless police instruct otherwise, and let the patrol document positions.
Green, Red/Pink, White: What the Report Colour Does to Your Claim
Every emirate's report ends in the same three-way outcome, and insurers act on it mechanically:
| Report | Meaning | What happens at claim time |
|---|---|---|
| Green | You are not at fault | Repair is claimed from the at-fault driver's insurer (third-party claim). No excess is charged to you, and your no-claims record is untouched. The unified third-party policy also entitles you to a replacement car or a cash allowance — commonly reported at about AED 300/day for up to 10 days — while yours is repaired. |
| Red / Pink | You are at fault | Your own comprehensive policy repairs your car (minus the excess); your insurer pays the other party. On third-party-only cover, your car's damage is entirely your own cost. You also pay the report fee (AED 520 in Dubai). |
| White | Fault undetermined / culprit unknown | Hit-and-run and parked-car cases. Comprehensive cover pays for your repair, normally with the excess applied; third-party-only pays nothing for your own car. |
The colour terminology drifts between "red" and "pink" depending on the insurer and emirate — the meaning is identical. If you believe the fault call is wrong, act fast: Saaed operates an official objection e-service in Abu Dhabi, Rafid accepts review requests through its call centre, and in Dubai you raise the objection with the traffic department that issued the report (escalating to Traffic Public Prosecution in contested cases). Do this before repairs start — once the cars are fixed, the evidence is gone.
The Insurance Claim, Step by Step
The claim itself is governed by the Central Bank of the UAE's unified motor insurance policies (Insurance Authority Board Decision 25/2016, now administered by the CBUAE):
- Notify your insurer immediately — many policies ask for notification within 24–48 hours, and the police report is commonly treated as valid for 3 months: repairs should be completed inside that window or you may need a fresh report.
- Submit the report + documents: the accident report (the PDF from the app is accepted), your licence, Mulkiya, and photos. On a green report you file against the other party's insurer; some comprehensive policyholders let their own insurer handle it and recover.
- Excess (deductible): at-fault comprehensive claims carry the excess on your policy schedule — typically AED 350–1,500 for private cars depending on vehicle value. The unified policy also caps additional deductibles insurers may load: commonly cited as up to 10% of the compensation for drivers under 25, around 15% for taxis and public-transport vehicles, and up to 20% for sports or modified cars — the exact split varies by schedule, so read yours.
- Agency vs non-agency repair: under the unified policy, a vehicle in its first year from registration must be repaired with new original parts and no depreciation deduction — in practice, dealer-agency repair. After that, agency repair is an optional cover (typically bought for years 2–3); without it the insurer directs you to its approved garages. You are entitled to have the finished repair checked by an approved vehicle-testing centre (a Tasjeel-type facility) if you doubt the workmanship.
- Settlement clock: if an insurer delays settling for more than 15 days after receiving complete documents without convincing justification, the unified policy obliges it to compensate you for the costs of being deprived of the vehicle.
- Total loss: where repair costs approach the car's pre-accident value (commonly applied around the 50% mark), the insurer may write the car off and pay the insured value instead. If that happens, the registration must be cancelled with your emirate's traffic department.
Comprehensive vs third-party at claim time is stark: on a red report, a comprehensive policyholder pays the excess; a third-party-only policyholder pays for their entire own repair. Numbers, not superlatives — when a bumper respray runs AED 1,500–3,000 and a hybrid battery or airbag event runs five figures, that gap is the real cost of the cheaper policy. Accident history also follows the car: a recorded claim shows up when you sell, which is exactly what buyers check before agreeing a price.
Hit-and-Run and Uninsured Drivers
The other car drove off: do not chase it. Photograph or memorise the plate, note colour/make/direction, and call 999 (or file the unknown-accident report in your emirate's app — AED 420 in Dubai, around AED 335 via Rafid in Sharjah). Police pull camera footage on major roads surprisingly often. With a white report, comprehensive cover pays for your repairs (excess applies); third-party-only does not cover your own car. For the fleeing driver the stakes under the 2025 law are jail-level: up to two years and fines reported at AED 50,000–100,000.
The at-fault driver is uninsured: the police report still assigns fault, and you (or your comprehensive insurer, which then recovers) pursue the driver directly — through a civil claim if needed. Driving without insurance is itself a fined violation with vehicle impoundment under the traffic law. There is no state compensation fund for vehicle damage, so an uninsured at-fault driver on your green report means either their wallet or the courts.
Rain and Flood Claims (December–April)
The UAE's rain season — roughly December to April, with the April 2024 storms as the extreme case — produces a claims pattern of its own. The unified comprehensive policy historically excluded "natural disasters such as floods, tornados, hurricanes" unless you bought a natural-perils extension. After April 2024, the position shifted: the Central Bank instructed insurers to settle rain and flood claims under comprehensive policies, and Emirates Insurance Federation officials confirm the market rule that comprehensive cover pays for storm and flood damage whenever the event is not officially declared a natural disaster by the state (neither the 2024 nor subsequent storms were). Some 2026 reporting says natural-perils cover is becoming a standard feature of new comprehensive policies — but wordings differ, so check the "natural perils / Act of God" line on your schedule rather than assuming.
The conditions that decide flood claims in practice:
- The car must have been parked or driven in a recognised, permitted location — public roads, designated parking. Deliberately driving into a flooded underpass, wadi or flood channel is treated as negligence and is not covered.
- Do not restart a flooded car. Engine hydrolock from a restart attempt is the difference between an electrical claim and an engine replacement — flood repair bills of AED 15,000–25,000+ were commonly cited after 2024.
- Third-party-only policies pay nothing for your own flood damage, full stop.
- Market-wide, comprehensive premiums rose roughly 20–30% after the 2024 floods — factor that into renewal quotes rather than blaming your individual record.
No police report is needed for pure weather damage (no collision) — you claim directly with photos and, for major events, the insurer's storm-claim process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do after a minor car accident in Dubai?
If no one is hurt: photograph the scene and both plates, move the cars out of traffic (AED 1,000 fine for obstructing the road at an accident), exchange licence and Mulkiya details, then file the report in the Dubai Police app under "Minor Traffic Accident Report". The report arrives by SMS/email, usually within minutes and at most 24 hours. Any injury: call 999 and 998 and leave the cars in place.
Do I have to report even a tiny scratch?
Yes. UAE law requires every accident to be reported regardless of size, and garages cannot legally repair accident damage without a police report. Private cash settlements at the roadside leave you exposed if the other driver later reports it — and leaving without exchanging details can be prosecuted as fleeing the scene.
How much does a Dubai Police accident report cost?
The at-fault driver pays AED 520. A report for damage by an unknown vehicle costs AED 420. The not-at-fault (green report) driver pays nothing.
What do the green and pink accident reports mean?
Green means you are not at fault — the other side's insurer pays for your repair. Red/pink means you are at fault — your comprehensive policy (minus excess) or your own pocket pays. White means fault was not determined or the culprit is unknown — comprehensive cover pays with excess applied.
How do I report an accident in Abu Dhabi — what is Saaed?
Saaed (Saeed) is the traffic-services company that handles minor accidents for Abu Dhabi Police. Since 1 August 2024 minor accidents must be reported in the Saaed app — police ask drivers not to call 999 for them. The operations room answers on 800 72233. Move the cars off the road first: stopping in a lane without justification costs AED 1,000 and 6 black points.
What is Rafid in Sharjah and what does it cost?
Rafid is Sharjah's accident-response operator. Report minor accidents via the Rafid app (report typically issued in about 15 minutes) or call 80092, 24/7. Fees are commonly reported between roughly AED 335 (unknown vehicle) and AED 440 (officer-attended) — confirm the current amount in the app before paying.
How long is a police report valid for an insurance claim?
Commonly 3 months from issue, and repairs should be completed within that window. Notify your insurer within 24–48 hours regardless — late notification is a standard reason for claim friction.
What happens if the other driver drives away?
Note the plate and call 999 or file an unknown-accident report in your emirate's app. You'll receive a white report; comprehensive insurance covers your repair with the excess applied. The fleeing driver faces up to two years' imprisonment and fines reported at AED 50,000–100,000 under Federal Decree-Law 14/2024.
Related reading: new to driving here? Start with converting your licence — the same guide covers Salik and traffic fines — and keep the 998 emergency-care numbers saved.
