Shory and ELM Streamline Cross-Border Insurance with New Digital Partnership

Editorial Team

Last updated 25-11-2025

3 min

Shory Group and ELM aim to simplify Saudi-UAE border crossings with online vehicle insurance.

Motorists can arrange UAE insurance digitally before reaching the border, easing travel hassle.

Shory’s Aber platform already sees 60% of Saudi drivers using online insurance services.

The initiative aligns with the UAE's ICP digital border process improvements.

Shory's CEO sees this as a step toward “smarter, more seamless travel” in the region.

Travellers who regularly make the long drive between Saudi Arabia and the UAE might soon find the border crossing a bit less of a faff, thanks to a new partnership between Shory Group and the Saudi digital solutions firm ELM. The two sides have teamed up to let motorists sort out their UAE vehicle insurance online before even reaching the border, which—speaking as someone who’s spent too many hours queueing at checkpoints across the region—is spot on.

Shory, which has been pushing hard into AI-powered insurance services, says the move fits into its wider plan to grow internationally and smooth out the customer experience. The integration with Saudi government digital platforms means travellers can buy their policy through trusted e‑services rather than scrambling for paperwork at the last minute. I reckon this shift alone will win over plenty of people who dread the usual on-the-ground hassle.

The initiative builds on Aber, Shory’s digital platform launched back in 2022 for land travellers entering the UAE. By 2025, about 60 per cent of users were already choosing to take care of their insurance online, a figure that surprised even a few folks I know in the sector. With this new integration, that number may climb even faster—especially as the system becomes more familiar to drivers in Saudi Arabia.

It also lines up neatly with the UAE’s ICP programme, which aims to make border processes more digital and, frankly, less of a headache. And believe it or not, these government-led digital pushes tend to move quicker than many expect; we’ve seen similar moments in the region where once a platform becomes embedded, adoption snowballs almost overnight.

Commenting on the deal, Shory Group’s co-founder and CEO, Abdulelah Alghofaili, said the company’s mission has always revolved around simplifying insurance through tech. He noted that partnering with ELM and linking up with Saudi Arabia’s official digital channels not only makes insurance more accessible for cross-border travellers but also supports the UAE’s push to digitise and improve the border experience. He framed it as a stepping stone toward wider regional cooperation and “smarter, more seamless travel.”

For those of us at Arageek who’ve spent years watching MENA startups try to untangle old bureaucratic knots, this kind of cross-border collaboration feels like one of those small but important wins—nothing flashy, but definately the sort of groundwork that makes future innovation possible.

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