Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC) has won regulatory approval to open a reinsurance branch in GIFT City, stepping up a push into India as Gulf insurers chase growth in one of the world's fastest-expanding markets. The license takes effect on April 1, 2026.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) cleared the application, allowing ADNIC to write reinsurance business out of India's International Financial Services Centre in Gujarat. The branch formalizes cross-border activity the insurer has long run into the country.
ADNIC is a regional multi-line insurer with operations in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Britain, writing both direct insurance and reinsurance.
AM Best affirmed its A (Excellent) financial strength rating with a stable outlook back in September 2024, pointing to very strong balance sheet strength and a track record of solid operating performance.
Abu Dhabi sovereign-linked Mamoura Diversified Global Holding is the insurer's largest shareholder.
Revenue momentum has been strong. ADNIC reported insurance revenue of AED 6.1 billion for the first nine months of 2025, up 16.1% from a year earlier, with a 93.2% combined ratio and total assets of AED 10.6 billion.
The GIFT City move is part of a broader overseas push, following the insurer's recent entry into Saudi Arabia. Chairman Sheikh Mohamed bin Saif Al Nahyan and chief executive Charalampos Mylonas have framed the India step within the UAE–India economic corridor, which targets US$200 billion in bilateral trade by 2032.
GIFT City offers reinsurers an unusually attractive package. The IFSC is treated as deemed foreign territory on Indian soil, with IFSCA acting as a single regulator.
Licensed entities qualify for a 10-year tax holiday within a 15-year window, secure GST exemptions on in-IFSC and offshore services, and can follow home-country solvency norms rather than India's 150% domestic requirement.
New Delhi wants the hub to rival Singapore and Dubai. The numbers suggest it is gaining ground. GIFT City said on April 2 that insurance and reinsurance premium volumes had climbed from $102 million in 2020 to more than $1.2 billion in 2025, an eleven-fold jump, with around 24 insurance offices now active.
Guy Carpenter India managing director Ankur Mehta said the "strong growth in premium volumes reflects increasing participation by global and domestic insurers and the growing confidence in GIFT City as a platform for India-linked risk underwriting."
ADNIC lands in a hub that is filling up fast. Recent entrants include Lloyd's, PartnerRe, Echo Re, Santam, MAPFRE Re, and Saudi Re, with more than 10 global reinsurers now licensed on-site.
The backdrop is an Indian market running hot. Moody's said total insurance premiums in the country rose 17% in the first eight months of fiscal 2025, up from 7% the year before.
Last month, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India cleared two new insurers, Allianz Jio Reinsurance and Kiwi General Insurance, to begin operations.
