TSB President Uğur Gülen: "Strong Insurance for Strong Turkey"

The Insurance Association of Turkey, the umbrella organisation of the insurance sector, is bringing together representatives of the insurance sector from all over the world at the "2nd International Insurance Summit" with the theme "Disaster Risks and Insurance". Deputy Minister Osman Çelik and SEDDK President Akif Eroğlu made important statements at the Summit.

The Insurance Association of Turkey (TSB), the guiding organisation of the sector working to grow the insurance sector and provide added value to the Turkish economy, is hosting the most important meeting of the sector with the 2nd International Insurance Summit organised during the 12th Insurance Week. Among the speakers attending the first day of the Summit are representatives of the insurance sectors of countries that have recently experienced earthquakes such as Japan, New Zealand and Greece, as well as OECD Permanent Representative to Turkey Prof. Dr. Kerem Alkin and Psychologist Beyhan Budak.

"Disaster Risks and Insurance: The Role of Insurers in Mitigating the Impacts of Disasters", Osman Çelik, Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance, said: "The contribution of the insurance and private pension sector, which has a share of approximately 5 percent in the finance sector, to our economy is far beyond its share. In addition, these sectors are also very important for the Medium Term Programme (MTP) prepared within the scope of the vision of the Turkish Century, which is based on healing the wounds of disasters, macro financial stability, reducing inflation to single digits, and maintaining growth and employment."

Referring to the steps to be taken within the scope of the MTP, Osman Çelik said that citizens will be protected against all disasters through the disaster insurance mechanism, the Automatic Enrolment System will be transformed into a second-tier pension system with the contribution of employers and a Complementary Pension System will be established, Complementary Long-Term Care Insurance will be established due to demographic change and aging, and Building Completion Insurance will be extended as well as Building Liability Insurance to improve construction quality.
Pointing out that work on the Participation Finance Law, which includes Participation Insurance and Pension Practices, is ongoing, Çelik emphasised that they will continue to support the sector in order to utilise new areas of opportunity in the Turkish Century.

Speaking at the opening of the 2nd International Insurance Summit, Mehmet Akif Eroğlu, Chairman of the Insurance and Private Pension Regulatory and Supervisory Authority (SEDDK), said that the Insurance Law will be revised within the scope of the vision of the Turkish Century and that many milestone changes will be experienced in the period called "Insurance 3.0". Eroğlu stated that many practices from effective audits to data regulation, from reform in related institutions to personal liability will be implemented with a focus on 'Market Discipline'.

Drawing attention to the improvement in company balance sheets, SEDDK President emphasised that the development of the sector is a reflection of the strong growth achieved by the economy despite the global conjuncture and that the positive momentum to be experienced in the economy with the implementation of the Medium Term Programme will return to the sector as the interest of international capital.

SEDDK President Eroğlu said that the sector has recovered from the earthquakes, which are considered as the disaster of the century, by being organised fast and stated that the works have started for the expected Marmara earthquake. Eroğlu continued his words as follows: "In order to ensure the financial resilience of the companies, we asked them to carry out stress tests and scenario evaluations. We will quickly accumulate funds with the equalisation provision regulation. In addition, we are expanding the scope of compulsory earthquake insurance on the one hand, and on the other hand, we are making reforming changes that will also cover voluntary housing insurance. By introducing an inflation clause in the policies, we will protect our policyholders against inflation as we protect them against earthquake risk."

"We will further develop the ecosystem where insurance companies are at the centre"

In his opening speech at the 2nd International Insurance Summit, Uğur Gülen, President of the Insurance Association of Turkey, emphasised the coverage gap that emerged after the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. TSB President Gülen continued his speech as follows: "The loss following the earthquakes of 6 February is 105 billion dollars. The payment made is at the level of 5 billion dollars. In the light of your motto "Insurance is Knowing the Value", we all have a duty to increase this awareness and to close the coverage gap rapidly in this period when we better understand the importance of insurance."
Underlining that the International Insurance Summit is a very valuable ground and meeting point to discuss the role and development areas of the insurance sector in the face of disasters, Gülen said: "As insurance companies positioned at the centre of the insurance ecosystem and TSB, the guiding institution of the sector, we carry out all our activities on the axis of further growing this ecosystem and expanding the protection shield it provides. In this context, SEDDK's pioneering work encouraging the sector to 'run faster' is very valuable. Public and private sector