|
|
|
Şişli Municipality and Quick Sigorta will set a precedent in urban transformation by implementing Building Completion Insurance in urban renewal projects in Turkey. KENTHAŞ, a subsidiary of Şişli Municipality, and Quick Sigorta have signed a protocol to implement Building Completion Insurance in urban renewal projects to be carried out in Şişli district.
KENTHAŞ and Quick Sigorta have signed an agreement to implement Building Completion Insurance in urban renewal projects in Şişli district. On Tuesday, December 19th, the press conference and protocol signing ceremony for the 'Insured Urban Transformation Project' took place at Wyndham Grand Istanbul. The event saw the participation of Şişli Municipality Mayor Muammer Keskin, Maher Holding Insurance Group Chairman Ahmet Yaşar, KENTHAŞ General Manager Özcan Biçer, Quick Sigorta General Manager Eyüp Özsoy, along with Şişli Municipality Council members, and representatives from the insurance and real estate sectors.
"We have initiated risk analysis studies throughout the district”
In his speech at the signing ceremony, Şişli Municipality Mayor Muammer Keskin pointed out that they have started risk analysis studies to examine the building stock throughout the district. He mentioned that they have prepared an Urban Transformation Strategy Plan and, in this context, conducted a building analysis of the district. All the data has been transferred to the 'Disaster Portal,' where it can be thoroughly examined.
Keskin also mentioned that they have created a 3D digital twin of the entire Şişli, providing an important foundation for more accurate calculations. He emphasized that they have prepared a disaster plan in collaboration with the Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM) and the Transportation Planning Department affiliated with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB).
"We have formed expert teams for urban transformation”
Indicating the establishment of Şişli Municipality Disaster Management Directorate to coordinate these efforts, Keskin mentioned “In the framework of collective wisdom, we have created the experiential capacity to solve this challenging problem. In this regard, we have called on experienced and strong entities from the public, private, and civil society sectors to actively participate in this process. As a result of this process, we have recorded Şişli Resilience Program as the first resilience program written by a district in Turkey's history.”
"We are initiating the 'Insured Urban Transformation' process”
Emphasizing that they have defined three titles under the program, namely Building Strengthening, Building Renewal, and Regional Urban Transformation, Keskin continued his words as follows: “In this process we are in; we continue to develop the 'Building Strengthening Insurance' product in collaboration with our program partner Quick Sigorta. Today, we are taking the most significant step in the building strengthening program by launching Building Completion Insurance with Quick Sigorta and starting the 'Insured Urban Transformation' process.
As for Building Renewal, we have entered into a program partnership agreement with COVEC, one of China's most important state-owned enterprises and the world's largest construction company. On this historic day, I would like to express my gratitude to Quick Sigorta officials, who added the concept of 'Insured Urban Transformation' to the Şişli Urban Resilience Program, through Mr. Ahmet Yaşar, the Chairman of Maher Holding Insurance Group.”
"The discussion of 'Building Completion Insurance' began in 2013"
In his speech following President Keskin, Ahmet Yaşar, the President of Maher Holding Insurance Group, pointed out that the journey of building completion insurance in Turkey began to be discussed in 2013 and said “It began to find its place in certain regulations that came into effect in 2014. In 2015, with the publication of the general conditions, it found its place in insurance regulations, and in 2018, it came to life with Quick Sigorta offering the 'Building Completion Insurance' product to the market. However, from that day until today, we haven't actually realized a fully-fledged project. Yes, some individual projects were carried out, but with the vision and foresight of the scale we are launching today, this project is being realized for the first time. Just when we had completely lost hope, Mayor Muammer and Mr. Özcan took steps that truly inspired us.”
"The economic damage caused by the earthquake is 100 billion USD”
Yaşar continued his words as follows: "Because our country is truly an earthquake-prone country, we face the risk of earthquakes, and earthquakes do not let us forget themselves. Just two days ago, the earthquake reminded us again. Many of us felt it deeply. We began to relive some traumas. Now, in the earthquakes on February 6, the great disaster we experienced in Kahramanmaraş, Antakya, and 11 other provinces actually faced our country with an economic damage of 100 billion dollars. It's not just the victims who lived in these houses, the lives we lost; in fact, the amount spent to heal the wounds of the earthquake in this year's budget is 1 trillion lira. This will continue in the future as well. Therefore, the 100 billion dollars, for no apparent reason, will be spent on healing the wounds of the earthquake instead of contributing to the development of our country. However, within this 100 billion dollars, the insured damage is around 5 billion dollars. In other words, the Turkish Insurance Sector quickly did its part, fulfilled its duty. It covered a 5 billion dollar loss and replaced it. Of course, we cannot bring back lives, but we can compensate for economic losses. Unfortunately, we can only do this within the scope of the duty assigned to us. There was a 5 billion dollar insurance, and we were able to realize 5 billion dollars in compensation, whereas we could have paid 100 billion dollars.”
“If we didn't have to allocate additional resources from our budgets”
Yaşar said: “If only our awareness and understanding of insurance were much higher, and we could have compensated for this loss entirely through the insurance system, without having to allocate additional resources from our budgets. Our insurance sector, with its reinsurance capacity, was powerful enough to cover this loss. Moreover, within this $5 billion, our insurance companies indeed paid these amounts, but this money did not come out of our country's pocket; through the reinsurance channel, these compensations came back to our country from abroad.”
"To live safely, insurance is needed"
Expressing congratulations to Şişli Municipality under the vision of Mayor Muammer Keskin that urban transformation cannot be realized without insurance, Yaşar stated the following on this matter:
“Moreover, in our medium-term planning, Presidential programs, and development plans, 'Building Completion Insurance' is now included. It is also a fact that one of the biggest agenda items of the upcoming period will be urban transformation. Because people need to live in secure housing. To live safely in secure housing, there is a need for insurance. Because people are also afraid of this: 'Yes, I want to live in safe buildings, but will my building be replaced when it collapses? Will I jump out of the frying pan into the fire? Will I lose what I have at home while trying to get more?' The citizen is concerned. So, what do they want? 'Yes, let my building be earthquake-resistant, let it be safe, but let it be safe with confidence.' Therefore, the most important factor to provide this confidence is insurance. Of course, many things have been considered with the project presented today by KENTHAŞ. However, against potential risks, risks that cannot be foreseen, risks that may not always be malicious, risks can occur even when people are well-intentioned. Therefore, the system that will eliminate these risks and ensure the completion of these buildings, replacing them, is insurance. That's why today, we are very pleased to present a project of this magnitude for the first time, together with Şişli Municipality. As mentioned by Mr. Mayor, this is not a job that will be done only with Şişli Municipality or only with Quick Sigorta. There is a need for the transformation of hundreds of thousands of houses throughout our country. Therefore, we expect all our municipalities and all insurance companies involved in this matter to embrace the presented model today and, consequently, to realize the urban transformation of our country, ensuring that our people confidently gain access to safe buildings.”
To prevent the grievances that may arise due to the inability to complete buildings
Building completion insurance is a surety insurance product that protects both homebuyers and real estate investors, as well as construction companies. It is not a mandatory type of insurance; however, there is a legal obligation to obtain this insurance and meet the specified coverage and conditions. Building completion insurance safeguards the payments and contracts made by individuals who intend to own residential or condominium properties. Building Completion Insurance will prevent the grievances arising from the inability to complete buildings. In addition, it will fulfill an important function by securing consumers' payments and providing a new non-cash source to the national economy.
In the Insured Urban Transformation project, how will the process work?
• With the Insured Urban Transformation project, every aspect of the construction is inspected, from the contractor's financial structure to the material quality of the building; the process is insured with Building Completion Insurance, ensuring the rights of all apartment owners.
• The most significant difference from traditional urban transformation campaigns is that all stages are insured, and the process takes place under the control of the Municipality.
• Those who want to make their buildings earthquake-resistant apply to KENTHAŞ.
• By KENTHAŞ, current situation analysis and feasibility studies are conducted; the project is presented to the property owners who can achieve the highest efficiency. The process begins with the property owners reaching a common decision.
• Financial and competence analyses are conducted, and among the contractor firms added to the system, KENTHAŞ recommends the suitable ones to the property owners. Upon selecting a firm, discussions about the project model take place.
• Property owners choose one of the profit-sharing, commitment, or hybrid models based on their financial situation.
• In the profit-sharing model, the contractor completes the project in exchange for apartments or shops without receiving money from the property owners. In the commitment model, the project is completed with property owners paying the contractor.
• In the hybrid model, the contractor receives apartments or shops, and part of the project is paid in cash.
• After conducting the feasibility study, the compliance of the contractor firm with insurance criteria is checked. Thus, KENTHAŞ ensures that the entire project is covered by Building Completion Insurance between the contractor firm and Quick Sigorta.
• After the construction begins, KENTHAŞ and Quick Sigorta monitor the timing, construction quality, and compliance with regulations at every stage of the project. And property owners safely acquire earthquake-resistant homes.
• Building Completion Insurance, the most crucial component of the Insured Urban Transformation project, provides assurance to both property owners and the companies implementing the project.
• With Building Completion Insurance, property owners secure their investments. Construction companies can also work without reducing their bank credit limits and ensure administrative, technical, and financial risk control. |
|
|
|
|
