The ADPF–Shory Deal That Could Save UAE Retirees Hundreds a Year

Buying car insurance in the UAE tends to follow the same rhythm every year. You forget it's due, a broker calls or you call one, you take whatever quote comes back first, and you move on. Most people don't comparison shop. Most people don't know how much that costs them.

A cooperation agreement signed between the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund (ADPF) and insurance platform Shory in May 2026 is trying to change that habit, at least for the fund's 50,000-plus registered retirees. Under the deal, pensioners can log into TAMM, Abu Dhabi's government services portal, navigate to Shory's section, and compare vehicle insurance quotes from more than 15 companies in one place. No broker. No callbacks. Exclusive pricing that the fund negotiated using its membership size as leverage.

It's not a major policy announcement. It got a couple of paragraphs in Gulf News. But the specifics are worth understanding.

What the deal actually covers

The mechanics are simple enough. ADPF retirees log into TAMM with their UAE PASS credentials, find Shory's section, and compare vehicle insurance plans from participating insurers side by side. They can buy directly through the platform without contacting individual companies.

The comparison function is the actual value here. Insurance aggregation isn't new, but in the UAE it has been fragmented. Most people renew with whoever handled their policy last year, partly out of habit and partly because shopping around takes effort most people don't spend. Shory pulls quotes from 15-plus companies at once. If you haven't compared in a few years, there's a decent chance you've been overpaying.

The exclusive pricing comes from volume. Fifty thousand retirees is a large enough group to negotiate rates that an individual wouldn't get alone. The ADPF is using its membership as collective buying power. That's a sensible thing for a pension fund to do.

No separate registration is needed. If you're already an ADPF pensioner, you have access. You just have to actually use it.

What the officials said

Khalaf Abdullah Rahma Al Hammadi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, framed the deal as part of a broader effort to improve retiree welfare beyond the monthly pension payment itself.

"The partnership with Shory supports our efforts to provide flexible and accessible solutions that help improve retirees' quality of life," he said.

Pension funds don't usually talk this way. The standard model is collect, invest, disburse. The ADPF has been moving past that through its Mazaya program, which now covers discounts and benefits for retirees across several service categories. This insurance deal is one more item added to that list.

Aoun Al Samadi, CEO of Shory, emphasized the technology side. "This partnership represents strong integration between technology and government services and helps provide users with a smooth and convenient experience," he said.

For Shory, being inside TAMM is commercially useful in ways worth saying plainly. The company gets distribution through a platform that millions of Abu Dhabi residents already use for government business. That's a different acquisition channel than running ads. The association also carries weight, since users are finding Shory through the same portal they use for visas and licensing.

The TAMM question

TAMM handles visa renewals, licensing, civil records, utility connections. People use it because they have to, so they trust it, and companies embedded in it benefit from that trust by association.

This is worth naming. When a government portal hosts a private company's product, even a vetted opt-in one, the line between "government service" and "government recommendation" gets blurry. The fact that Shory's section shows multiple competing insurers rather than routing everyone to one provider is a meaningful design decision. It keeps the comparison function intact. But it's worth noticing that dynamic exists, even if this particular setup handles it reasonably.

Why car insurance

Vehicle insurance is mandatory. Every registered car in the UAE must have it, so renewal is a recurring cost nobody avoids. For retirees who drive to clinics, to family, to the supermarket, this isn't discretionary.

A few hundred dirhams saved annually matters more on a pension than it does mid-career. Pensions don't typically adjust much for inflation. Costs do. The gap between what a retiree receives and what things actually cost has been widening, and insurance is one of the places that shows up most predictably.

The digital access matters separately. TAMM works on mobile. Retirees can compare and buy without visiting an insurance office or sitting on hold. For someone with limited mobility or without reliable transport, that difference is real.

How to use it

Log into TAMM. Find the Shory section under pension fund benefits. Compare the available plans. Pick one. Buy through the platform.

No intermediary. If a different insurer is cheaper, you can switch.

The bigger picture

Abu Dhabi has been building this approach for a while: use the scale and credibility of a public institution to deliver private sector services at rates individuals can't get alone. Mazaya is the structure for it. The Shory deal is the newest entry.

Whether more partnerships follow in health insurance or other categories will depend on how many retirees actually use this one.

For now: if you're an ADPF pensioner and your car insurance is coming up for renewal, check TAMM first. You may already have access to a better rate than the one you'd find on your own.