The verdict in three sentences
An insurance broker in Dubai or London managing 8,000 commercial and health policies for 1,200 corporate clients can no longer run renewals, commissions and claims on a shared spreadsheet and phone reminders. Off-the-shelf broker management systems cost roughly $550 to $1,650 (£430 to £1,300) a month and handle policy administration well, but rarely the detailed reconciliation of commission statements per insurer or a branded client portal. A custom build makes sense when lost or unreconciled commission exceeds the cost of a project amortised over three years.
What a broker actually needs in 2026
The job rests on four flows: the renewal calendar, calculating and reconciling commissions of 8 to 15 % depending on insurer and line, claims follow-up through to settlement, and the relationship with the corporate client. On compliance, a UAE broker is supervised by the Central Bank of the UAE since the insurance authority merged into it, while a London broker answers to the FCA and its Consumer Duty. Both require documented advice, anti-money laundering checks and strict handling of health data (UAE PDPL, UK GDPR).
| Function | What a spreadsheet does | What the software must do | Measurable impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renewal calendar | Manually sorted list | Alerts at 90, 60 and 30 days, automatic reminders | 1 to 3 points of retention |
| Commissions per insurer | Entered after the statement arrives | Expected commission, reconciliation, flagged gaps | 0.5 to 1.5 % of commission recovered |
| Claims | Email threads | Timestamped file, documents, insurer deadlines | Average handling time down 20 to 30 % |
| Corporate client portal | None | Certificates, policies, online claim notification | 30 % fewer inbound calls |
| Regulatory compliance | Paper files | Advice trail, KYC, audit log | Inspection prepared in days, not weeks |
| Health data | Shared files | Access rights, logging, controlled hosting | Demonstrable PDPL or GDPR compliance |
Comparing options and costs
Prices below are 2026 orders of magnitude seen in Dubai and London. Kolonell amounts follow our official grid in FCFA and euros.
| Option | 2026 cost | Timeline | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level broker SaaS | $550 to $950 (£430 to £750) a month | 1 to 2 months | Under 3,000 policies, few insurers |
| Full broker SaaS | $1,100 to $1,650 (£870 to £1,300) a month | 2 to 4 months | 3,000 to 15,000 policies, several lines |
| Custom build by a local agency | $70,000 to $140,000 (£55,000 to £110,000) | 6 to 9 months | In-house processes, insurer integrations |
| Kolonell custom app, medium complexity | 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) | 3 to 4 months | Client portal and commission reconciliation |
| Kolonell custom app, complex | 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR) | 5 to 8 months | Full policies, claims and commissions |
| Kolonell maintenance | 35,000 / 75,000 / 120,000 FCFA a month (53 / 114 / 183 EUR) | Ongoing | Updates, backups, fixes |
One point often underestimated is data migration. Eight thousand policies spread across several files, with different policy numbering per insurer, usually take 3 to 5 weeks of cleaning. Plan for it whatever option you choose.
Commissions: the module that pays for the project
Each insurer sends statements in its own format, with its own rates per line (motor fleet, property, group medical, workers' compensation). The software must compute the expected commission at issue, compare it with what was received and flag the gap. In the firms we audit, unclaimed gaps often amount to 0.5 to 1.5 % of annual commission, sometimes because an endorsement changed the premium without updating the rate. A reconciliation module is the core of a well-paid-back custom business application.
Mini case study
Omar is a partner in a corporate insurance brokerage in Dubai. His book holds 8,000 policies, with an average annual premium of $5,000 and an average commission of 11 %.
- Premiums under management: 8,000 × $5,000 = $40,000,000.
- Annual commission: $40,000,000 × 11 % = $4,400,000.
- Renewals lost for lack of follow-up, estimated at 2 % of policies: 160 × $5,000 × 11 % = $88,000 of commission a year.
- Unclaimed statement gaps, estimated at 1 %: $44,000 a year.
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In total, about $132,000 leaks out every year. A full SaaS at $1,650 a month ($19,800 a year) recovers part of the renewals but not the detailed reconciliation. A medium-complexity custom layer for commission reconciliation and the client portal, alongside the SaaS, pays for itself in the first year if it recovers only half of those losses.
FAQ
Does broker software need regulatory approval?
No, the regulator licenses the broker, not the software. The tool must however produce the advice trail and transaction records quickly during an inspection, which saves 2 to 3 weeks of preparation.
Can client health data be hosted abroad?
UAE PDPL and UK GDPR both restrict transfers to countries without adequate protection. Many brokers choose local or adequacy-approved hosting to avoid extra contractual safeguards, which can add 2 to 4 weeks of legal work.
How long does it take to migrate 8,000 policies?
Plan 3 to 5 weeks of cleaning and import, then 2 to 4 weeks of parallel running. A full custom project takes 5 to 8 months overall.
Is a client portal worth it for corporate clients?
For 1,200 companies, yes: requests for certificates and employee medical cards often reach several hundred calls a month. A portal cuts those calls by about 30 % and positions the broker against bancassurance.
Should the software connect to insurer extranets?
It helps, but in 2026 few insurers in the Gulf expose open APIs, while the London market is further ahead. Start with automated import of statements in Excel or CSV, which covers about 80 % of the need.
Let's scope your project. We define the scope with you (policies, commissions, claims, client portal) and a realistic data migration schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
