Insurers are reviewing fire tariffs for high-rise buildings

In the evening of December 31, 2015, Address Downtown Dubai hotel and its 63 floors were set ablaze. The building’s construction, entrusted to the group Emaar Real Estate, was completed in 2008. In 2013, the authorities adopted new standards for the buildings whose height exceeds 15 meters. The   requirements in terms of fire-resistant coating have been reviewed.

Address Downtown Dubai hotel was, therefore, one of the last towers to be finished under the ancient standards. The first estimate of the claim amounts to 650 million AED (177 million USD). Emaar Real Estate which owns hundreds of buildings is able to exert pressure on insurers and contain the increase of the premiums associated to its risks. Insurers will, nonetheless, scrupulously examine the material used, probably increasing the premiums for buildings covered with aluminum panels.