Page 13 - Turkinsurance Digital Magazine

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of the region, and they operated until October 31, 2023, in Malat- Did the Mandatory Earthquake Insurance policies increase
ya, İskenderun, Osmaniye, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Hatay, Gaziantep, after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes?
Elazığ, and Kahramanmaraş. Within a short period of 4 months The painful experiences after the earthquake influenced the in-
since the earthquake, we had completed the damage payments for clination to be insured, leading to an increase in insurance rates.
all residences with complete damage documents and those that had When looking at the number of policies in force, there is approx-
been officially assessed by the Ministry of Environment, Urbani- imately a 1% increase in total insurance rates both in Istanbul
zation, and Climate Change among the notifications we received. and the Marmara region after the earthquake. In daily policy
Our efforts regarding the damage notifications continued, and as production, there was a 55% increase nationwide. This increase
of January, we had processed approximately 600,000 damage no- demonstrates the need for our citizens to have Mandatory Earth-
tifications received, with total compensation payments reaching 35 quake Insurance and their trust in the institution.
billion TL.
However, after the earthquake, this upward trend, like after
Could you briefly mention the new initiatives implemented every earthquake, returns to its normal course. Our institution's
during this process? goal is to ensure all eligible residences are covered by Mandatory
Since the first day of the earthquake, our priority as an institution Earthquake Insurance without experiencing any painful experi-
has been to ensure that policyholders receive compensation as soon ences. Since its establishment, DASK, which is responsible for
as possible. In this context, we have implemented many new initia- the acquisition, implementation, and management of Mandatory
tives on behalf of DASK. Firstly, as a first for DASK, on February Earthquake Insurance activities, aiming to create an earthquake
27, 2023, we initiated an advance payment scheme to provide fi- coverage pool for our country and ensure all citizens are finan-
nancial support to our citizens from the moment of notification of cially protected, has reached approximately 12 million Manda-
damage until the completion of the damage assessment process. We tory Earthquake Insurance policies nationwide over the past 24
provided an advance payment of 20% of the insurance amount for
collapsed, urgently collapsed, and heavily damaged buildings, and years.
10% of the insurance amount for moderately damaged buildings.
Since the first day of the earthquake, our priority as an institution The efforts to add coverage for perils other than earthquakes
has been to ensure that policyholders receive their compensation to DASK, where they stand at the moment? Can you provide
as soon as possible. In addition, we initiated a new program for information on when the new coverage will be implemented?
lightly damaged residences, which constitute approximately 80% of As DASK, we are currently providing financial protection to
the notifications we receive. Handling the majority of these lightly homeowners insured against earthquakes and earthquake-relat-
damaged files manually would have taken years to complete due to ed damages through Mandatory Earthquake Insurance. In recent
the sheer volume. Therefore, we have implemented a new process years, witnessing increasingly frequent and intense natural dis-
where 15% of the insurance amount is directly paid to policyholders asters, we have recognized our responsibility to undergo a sig-
without applying any deductible. Policyholders who receive 15% of nificant transformation within DASK's structure. As a result, we
the insurance amount have the option to request a reassessment of are nearing completion of our efforts to include all other types of
their property by sending an appraiser if they wish. Another issue natural disasters, particularly floods, within DASK's scope. We
we addressed was the payments for policyholders with mortgaged aim to finalize our efforts to transform Mandatory Earthquake
properties. Through collaboration with the Banks Association, we Insurance into Mandatory Disaster Insurance by July 2024. This
streamlined the process for mortgaged properties, allowing direct way, we will provide coverage to our citizens for all types of nat-
payments to policyholders for damages up to 50,000 TL without ural disasters through a single policy.
requiring individual consent forms. Also, during the process, we en-
countered situations where the contact information in the policies In the previous period, DASK coverage amounts were in-
was incorrect. It was found that payments could not be collected be- creased. What should individuals who have not yet per-
cause the necessary payment codes did not reach our policyholders. formed this process do?
To address this issue, a project was developed in coordination with As of January 1, 2024, the Mandatory Earthquake Insurance
the Presidency Digital Transformation Office using e-Government Tariff has been updated. With the changes made: The unit price
authorities. As an additional service alongside the "DASK Damage per square meter, which is the basis for the insurance amount for
/ Payment Inquiry" section on the e-Government platform, a new reinforced concrete buildings, has been increased from 3,016 TL
service called "DASK Payment Code Service" has been added. This to 6,000 TL. The maximum coverage amount for a single dwell-
allows our policyholders to access their payment codes through ing, previously 640,000 TL, has been raised to 1,272,000 TL.
e-Government. Furthermore, to inform our policyholders about this Additionally, for the first time in DASK's history, inflation pro-
matter, weekly SMS messages are sent through both e-Government tection has been introduced to the coverage of new policies issued
and mobile network operators. after January 1, 2024. In summary, for all policies with a start
date of January 1, 2024, and beyond, coverage will be calculated
Could you please elaborate on what you experienced in the based on current values, and at the same time, coverage will be
field after the earthquake? under inflation protection; it will be updated every month without
We visited the earthquake-affected provinces every week and estab- any additional premium payment, based on the determined infla-
lished direct contact with our policyholders. Our aim here was to tion rate. For all policyholders with a policy start date before
maintain constant communication. The most fundamental and val- January 1, 2024, to update their coverage and benefit from in-
uable thing for us was to assure our citizens that we were by their flation protection, they should contact insurance agents or insur-
side, not only in terms of compensating them but also in letting them ance companies; complete endorsement transactions by making
know that they could always reach out to us. We are still in direct additional premium payments. In 2024, we invite all citizens to
communication with all citizens. We provide support for our citizens secure their homes under DASK coverage, renew their policies,
to reach out to me and all our team members via our mobile phones. and update their coverage for stronger financial security.
Maintaining this communication is extremely valuable.