Shory Backs UAE Collective Wedding Initiative in Partnership with ICP

. That is exactly what happened when Shory Group, the UAE's first and only fully digital insurance brokerage, collaborated with the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP) to host a collective wedding ceremony — backed by AED 1 million — for Emirati couples across the country in 2026. It is a story worth telling: a modern insurtech brand rooting itself in one of the most deeply held traditions of UAE culture.

What Is a Collective Wedding in the UAE?

Before diving into the partnership itself, it helps to understand the cultural weight of collective weddings in the UAE. Known locally as "hafla zawaj jama'iya," collective weddings are organized events where multiple couples celebrate their marriages together in a single ceremony. They have long been supported by government bodies and charitable organizations as a way to reduce the financial burden of traditional weddings, which can easily run into hundreds of thousands of dirhams.

For UAE nationals, weddings carry immense social and family significance. Yet rising costs have made large-scale celebrations harder to afford. Collective wedding programs step in to cover venue, catering, decoration, and other essentials — making it possible for couples who might otherwise delay marriage to start their lives together.

ICP, responsible for identity and citizenship services across the UAE, has historically been a key facilitator of these ceremonies. Its role in bringing Shory into this initiative makes sense: ICP already works closely with the insurance sector. In fact, Shory's digital insurance platform Aber, launched through its collaboration with ICP, reached over 60% adoption for online travel insurance at UAE land borders by 2025.

Why Shory Chose to Mark One Million Customers This Way

In January 2026, Shory Group announced it had crossed one million customers in the UAE — a remarkable achievement for a company that lets users compare and purchase car, home, health, and pet insurance in under 90 seconds, with no paperwork or phone calls.

To mark the occasion, Shory launched a major rewards campaign featuring insurance premium refunds, Mercedes-Benz giveaways, and a headline grand prize of AED 1 million.

But the collective wedding initiative with ICP reflects a different kind of intention — one that goes beyond individual prizes. Instead of directing that capital purely into promotional giveaways, Shory chose to redirect it toward a community initiative that resonates with the UAE's values of family, social cohesion, and national identity.

Aoun Al Smadi, CEO of Shory UAE, has been clear about the brand's purpose: "Reaching one million customers in the UAE is a proud milestone for Shory. This campaign is our way of thanking customers and reinforcing our commitment to making insurance simple, fast, and fully digital."

The collective wedding initiative takes that thank-you from the digital realm into the real world.

The AED 1 Million Commitment: What It Covers

The AED 1 million tied to this collective wedding program is structured to support participating couples through a range of needs. Shory's involvement also means that newlyweds receive exposure to the company's insurance products — a meaningful introduction to financial planning tools they may need as they build their households.

For the couples involved, this is not just about a subsidized wedding day. It represents access to a wider support system that includes health and home insurance, products that newly married couples actively need but often overlook in the flurry of early married life.

This kind of integration — between a life milestone and practical financial products — is exactly how forward-looking insurtech companies are rewriting their relationship with customers. Rather than appearing only after a car accident or medical emergency, Shory is showing up at a moment of joy.

Shory and ICP: A Partnership Built on Digital Transformation

The Shory-ICP relationship predates this collective wedding event. Shory is one of the companies that ICP has honored with its Shield of Appreciation for contributions to digital transformation in UAE government services. Their Aber platform, which provides instant travel insurance to visitors entering the UAE through land ports, was a pioneering integration of digital insurance into the state's entry infrastructure.

This history of collaboration means the collective wedding program is less a novelty and more a natural evolution of two organizations that already share a language around access, efficiency, and serving UAE residents at scale.

From a technology standpoint, Shory's infrastructure supports exactly the kind of volume and speed such an initiative requires. When couples registered through the program, their insurance needs could be addressed instantly — no queues, no physical forms.

Why This Matters for the Future of Insurtech in the UAE

The UAE is one of the most digitally advanced markets in the world, yet insurance penetration remains relatively low compared to other similarly developed economies. Most people still buy insurance reactively — after they own a car or receive a medical request from an employer.

Programs like the Shory-ICP collective wedding initiative shift that dynamic. They introduce insurance not as a bureaucratic obligation but as a tangible part of life's most meaningful moments. When a couple receives home or health coverage as part of their wedding celebration, they start their marriage understanding its value.

For Shory, this is brand building at its most authentic. The company is not just advertising — it is participating in the community it serves.

A Model Worth Watching

As UAE insurtech continues to grow, the partnership between Shory and ICP around the collective wedding program offers a blueprint: combine government infrastructure, cultural relevance, and digital-first service delivery to create something that genuinely matters to people.

Other markets in the region — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt — all have similar traditions around collective weddings. If this model proves effective in the UAE, it is easy to imagine it traveling across borders, with digital insurance brokerages finding ways to embed themselves in life's biggest celebrations rather than its worst days.

For now, the couples who celebrated their weddings through this program have something more than memories. They have a head start on the financial safety net that every new household needs.