Uğur Gülen is the new president of TSB

The Extraordinary General Assembly of the Insurance Association of Turkey was held with the participation of sector stakeholders and member companies. As a result of the election, Uğur Gülen became the new President of TSB.

At the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Insurance Association of Turkey (TSB), the umbrella organization of the insurance industry, held on September 14, 2023, Uğur Gülen was elected President. Gülen, General Manager of Aksigorta, was also serving as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of TSB. Uğur Gülen will serve as TSB President until the TSB General Assembly to be held in April 2024.

Mehmet Akif Eroğlu, Chairman of the Insurance and Private Pension Regulatory and Supervisory Authority ( SEDDK), made the opening speech at the Extraordinary General Assembly, where former President Atilla Benli was presented his plaque by Taylan Türkölmez, Vice President.

Following Atilla Benli's farewell to the TSB Presidency on August 3, Taylan Türkölmez, one of the Vice Presidents of the TSB, assumed the duty as acting president. In his farewell speech, Benli emphasized the last few challenging years. Addressing the managers of insurance companies, Benli said: "For four years, we have managed our companies and proved our mettle in an unprecedented period of pandemics, floods, fires and the disaster of the century, earthquakes... I wish success to our new President and Board of Directors, who I strongly believe will take our industry even further." Atilla Benli stated that they were able to demonstrate a solution-oriented management approach at TSB and thanked the members of the Board of Directors and insurance company executives.

In his speech at the TSB Extraordinary General Assembly, Mehmet Akif Eroğlu, Chairman of SEDDK, pointed out that the insurance and private pension sectors are growing in parallel with the growth of the Turkish economy and that the positive momentum in the balance sheets will be seen in the coming periods, and that while achieving this, they will proceed in accordance with the rules through on-site audits without compromising market discipline. Referring to the Compulsory Catastrophe Insurance, which was included in the Medium Term Program, Eroğlu emphasized that with the system to be changed, a period in which the insured will be protected against increasing risks will begin. SEDDK President Eroğlu also emphasized that the Complementary Pension System is being worked on meticulously and that the system will be as successful as the PPS.

Following the opening speeches, presidential candidates Adnan Süphanoğlu, Murat Büyükçelebi and Uğur Gülen took the floor and addressed the participants. Afterwards, 66 of the 74 delegates participated in the voting. In the election with 63 valid votes, Uğur Gülen received 55 votes, Murat Büyükçelebi received 6 votes and Adnan Süphanoğlu received 2 votes.

Uğur Gülen, the new President of TSB, made the following statements in his speech after the election:

"Our industry is the center of gravity, the pillar of a huge ecosystem consisting of intermediaries, local and foreign reinsurers, loss adjusters, lawyers, loss intermediaries, regulatory bodies, customers, local and foreign partners. Therefore, it is of vital importance to ensure the sustainability of our industry and to ensure that it receives the value and share it deserves from this ecosystem in return for its contribution. The purpose of the TSB is, in fact, to ensure exactly this. Therefore, as the Association, we will work intensively to reposition insurance. Now is the time to realize what we will do and what we want to do. As soon as possible, we will start our activities with the organs of our Association, and first of all, we will hold elections to complete our Board of Directors. I would like to thank you all very much for your kindness. I am glad to have you here; I hope we will be together more often from now on."

At the TSB Extraordinary General Assembly, elections were also held for the membership of the TSB Non-Life Management Committee, which became vacant after Uğur Gülen's resignation. Neslihan Necipoğlu, General Manager of Neova Insurance, became the new member of the committee.