Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Insurance Sector Cooperation Fair and Congress was held in Antalya. Antalya Deputy Governor Erol Tanrıkulu, TOBB Board Member Hakan Ülken, SEDDK Vice President Davut Menteş, Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Ali Bahar, TSB Vice President Ahmet Yaşar and USFK Chairman İbrahim Düzenli made speeches at the opening of the fair.

In his speech, TOBB Board Member Hakan Ülken noted that SEDDK, TSB, TCIP, TOBB TCIP, TOBB SAİK and TOBB SEİK formed a crisis management center, made an emergency action plan and took the necessary measures urgently since the first hours of the Kahramanmaraş-based earthquake disaster on February 6^th.

Stating that the Natural Catastrophe Insurance Institution and Insurance Companies quickly compensated the earthquake damages, Hakan Ülken said, “Our insurance agencies and insurance experts worked diligently and helped the damage processes and stood by the insured.”

Stating that the Kahramanmaraş earthquake once again reminded us of the importance of insurance, Ülken said, “The importance of having the right policy with the necessary coverage was clearly demonstrated without hesitation. Unfortunately, in this process, we frequently encountered the problem of underinsurance, especially in commercial risks. In some risks, earthquake coverage was provided with high exemptions or even not provided at all. This situation not only victimized the insured, but also led to the waste of our national wealth, loss of employment and market. Unfortunately, it also damaged the trust in the insurance sector.”

- Affirmative action for agencies

Hakan Ülken demanded that insurance companies apply affirmative action to agencies and said, “Because they are our hands and arms in the field. Each of them is an insurance soldier. They serve the insurance sector in our country.” Stating that loss adjusters, especially those operating in the auto branch, are experiencing wage problems, Ülken said, “Due to increasing costs, loss adjuster offices are facing the threat of closure. They are losing their trained qualified staff to other business lines. We should take measures to increase wages or reduce costs as soon as possible to ensure the survival of loss adjuster offices.”

Stating that they are celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the Republic and emphasizing that the insurance of Türkiye is the ideas of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Ülken said, “Under the guidance of our ancestor, we have come to important points not even a century ago. Our country, which was said to be unable to produce a pin, is today the largest industrial country between China and Italy. We have achieved this together, as Turkish people.”

Ülken said that in order to prepare for the expected big İstanbul earthquake, industrial facilities and SMEs should be made more resilient against earthquakes and other possible risks, and suggested starting an insurance mobilization for SMEs.

Referring to the process of combating climate change, Ülken said, “Low carbon emissions, clean energy, hybrid vehicles will gain importance in the near future. Companies that cannot achieve green transformation will not be able to export to developed markets. If we do not move forward quickly on this issue, we may lose the European market, which is our most important market. For this reason, we should make green transformation our top priority agenda item. In this process, the insurance sector also has a great responsibility. The sector is expected to actively participate in the process. As the business world, we expect the insurance sector to take responsibility for preventive activities and compensation for damages. In this context, as a sector, we should support green transformation and offer the necessary guarantees.”