Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Following the opening speeches, the panel was moderated by Mevlüt Söylemez, TOBB Insurance Manager. The panelists were Levent Korkut, Chairman of TOBB Insurance Agents Executive Committee; Ahmet Nedim Erdem, Chairman of TOBB Insurance Adjusters Executive Committee; Ahmet Yaşar, Vice President of the Association of Insurance, Reinsurance and Pension Companies of Türkiye; and Erdal Turgut, TCIP Coordinator and Deputy General Manager of Türk Reassurance Co Inc. The meeting was well attended by TOBB Deputy Secretary General Cengiz Delibaş, Insurance Agents Executive Committee Members, Insurance Adjusters Executive Committee Members, TCIP Secretary General Serpil Günal, TSB Deputy Secretary General Atilla Oksay, academicians and sector representatives, particularly agencies and adjusters.

- Increasing natural disasters

In his speech, Ender Yorgancılar, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of TOBB, pointed out that there has been an increase in the number of natural disasters in Türkiye and around the world in recent years, and that the year 2023 in particular witnessed natural disasters of unprecedented magnitude and enormous destructive impact. Reminding that the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake was described as the disaster of the century, Yorgancılar stated that this disaster hit ten cities in Türkiye and caused damage in an area equal to the total area of Germany.

Stating that according to a study conducted by a German development organization, Türkiye ranked 33^rd among 189 countries in terms of risk ranking in terms of disasters, Yorgancılar emphasized that in order to protect against the effects of these disasters as much as possible, it is necessary to plan and build cities and buildings in a way to protect against disaster risks. Yorgancılar also underlined that citizens should be made aware of what to do in the event of a disaster.

- Insurance system should be emphasized for the damages caused by disasters

Stating that the insurance system is an important and effective way to eliminate the harmful effects of disasters, Yorgancılar stated that it will be possible to protect against the material damages of disasters by transferring disaster risks to the insurance system and insuring buildings, goods, factories and workplaces.

Stating that the risks triggered by climate change confirm that the issue of disaster insurance should be taken much more seriously in Türkiye, Yorgancılar emphasized that expanding the scope of compulsory earthquake insurance and transforming it into compulsory disaster insurance would be an accurate and important achievement.

Yorgancılar stated that when disasters occur, insurance loss adjusters assume an important responsibility in the most important process in terms of insurance, which is the determination of the damage and payment of compensation to the rightful owners. Yorgancılar explained that in order to be prepared for possible major disasters, the necessary legislation and training activities should be completed rapidly in order to ensure that all insurance loss adjusters take part in damage assessment studies.

Emphasizing that insurance companies should not compete with their own agencies in their own digital channels, Yorgancılar stated that the agency cannot be without a company and the insurance company cannot be without an agency and said “we have to work together to increase insurance penetration.”

Yorgancılar listed the negative effects of the lack of insurance in sectors with high fire risk such as plastics, paint, furniture and chemical products, and emphasized that both industrialists and the insurance sector should do their part in this regard.

In the panel held after the opening speeches, Compulsory Catastrophe Insurance was discussed in depth.