August has been the best month of the year for pioneering insurance provider Beema as the start-up’s growth trajectory continues.
The UAE company says it has enjoyed “very strong performance” with July also delivering great results as more people in the nation connect with its incentive-linked insurance model and embrace the idea of driving less.
Beema’s industry-shaping strategy rewards motorists who log less miles during their driving year, because they pose less of a risk of having an accident.
The company was the first to introduce to the region its Pay-per-kilometre car insurance option that enables drivers to earn up to 25 per cent cashback at the end of the policy year, depending on how much they have driven.
Beema, which launched in September 2019, says, increasingly car owners are starting to understand the value it can deliver through personalised car insurance products, including its ground-breaking SmartDriver offering.
And at a time when a rise in the cost of living is in the headlines, Beema’s alternatives to traditional standard policies are proving a smart investment and a sound budgeting move.
In short, they mean an owner’s vehicle is protected while also proving kinder to their outgoings, depending on usage and behaviour.
While Pay-per-kilometre rewards those who cover less distance during the policy duration, SmartDriver looks after those drivers who do 20,000km or more behind the wheel.
It allows them to earn rewards based on good driving, assessed via innovative technology that measures a users’ driving behaviour based upon factors such as speeding, sudden braking, and phone handling.
Chief executive officer Nicola Garelli is excited to confirm that Beema’s operating model is continuing to produce good results.
“Our approach to building customer-centric insurance products and promoting innovation within the industry continues to yield success and it remains the driving force behind the accelerated growth that Beema is experiencing,” he adds.
Statistics and data speak volumes for how popular Beema’s new style of insurance products are with the UAE market.
The company has experienced double-digit growth in policies issued month-on-month and has enjoyed revenue growth of more than 20 per cent.
Looking back at the year, Beema also reveals it has been more efficient at acquiring customers; it reveals a 22 per cent improvement year-on-year.
These numbers certainly have the attention of Indraneel Jain, the company's chief business officer.
“Data sits at the core of our business and using data we are able to identify market trends early on, allowing us to optimise the sales and marketing funnels,” he says.
“As a result, we’re consistently improving the way we communicate and onboard customers, which helps us maintain our growth trajectory’’.
With technology at the centre of Beema’s operation, the provider says it is continuing to notice how more drivers prefer to use online and digital channels when purchasing their car insurance.
Our approach to building customer-centric insurance products and promoting innovation within the industry continues to yield success
Beema CEO Nicola Garelli
Embracing this habitual movement, Beema has ensured it offers easy-to-use and simplified online channels that allow customers to not only get a quote, but buy a policy end-to-end online, within a few minutes.
Convenience remains high on the wishlist of many in the UAE, giving Beema added attraction while steering motorists away from sometimes cumbersome traditional insurance purchasing methods.
Launched in December 2021 as a first product of its kind in the region, the gamification element of SmartDriver makes it appealing for the user, with each trip generating an overall “driving score” - the higher the better.
Users can also see how well they scored on individual driving factors and know which areas they can improve upon, all activated and enabled through Beema’s mobile app.
And, importantly, drivers can then earn rewards like cashback based on their cumulative driving score at the end of their policy period, meaning safe driving is incentivised in a thoroughly modern way.
Meanwhile, many more drivers have embraced Beema’s common sense approach and pocketed savings by taking up the tech-first firm’s Pay-per-kilometre product.
It is almost three years since this insurtech start-up announced its arrival by lighting up the Burj Khalifa - and went on to win Best Insurtech Solution at the Leaders in Fintech Awards 2021.
It seems its mission to “make insurance lovable” is reaching plenty more motorists and continuing to take Beema to fresh heights.
You can learn more about all its insurance products by visiting https://www.beema.ae/en or downloading the app.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
Emiliano Alfaro (Pune City) The Uruguayan striker has played for Liverpool – the Montevideo one, rather than the better-known side in England – and Lazio in Italy. He was prolific for a season at Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League in 2012/13. He returned for one season with Fujairah, whom he left to join Pune.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
