Page 22 - Turkinsurance Digital Magazine

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term “commercial property” must be changed to “residential Management Center, with the participation of our teams from
property.” What matters here is maintaining the integrity of İstanbul joining those already on-site in Ankara. To ensure ex-
buildings constructed as residences. For buildings outside the tremely rapid compensation payments, we initiated claims pro-
scope of Compulsory Earthquake Insurance, Voluntary Earth- cesses ex officio for residences officially identified as collapsed,
quake Insurance can be purchased. in immediate need of demolition, or severely damaged—with-
out even waiting for the insured to report a claim—by using
What should citizens who want to take out Compulsory the lists of properties officially assessed by the Ministry of En-
Earthquake Insurance pay attention to? vironment, Urbanization and Climate Change. As a result, we
made our first damage payment within just 24 hours after the
The insurance policy is issued based on the policyholder’s dec- earthquake. On the same day, a team from our DASK Truck
laration regarding the residence. Therefore, as with all insur- and claims units stationed at the Ankara Emergency Manage-
ance products, providing accurate information is extremely ment Center was dispatched to the affected region. To provide
important in Compulsory Earthquake Insurance. In order for faster and face-to-face service to our policyholders, we estab-
homeowners to receive full compensation in the event of an lished DASK container offices in the provinces within the af-
earthquake, they must accurately declare the gross floor area fected region. These offices operated until October 31, 2023,
of the residence, the type of construction, and any prior damage in the provinces of Malatya, İskenderun, Osmaniye, Şanlıurfa,
status. They must also provide correct and complete contact Adıyaman, Hatay, Gaziantep, Elazığ, and Kahramanmaraş.
information. These details are important for sending renewal
reminders, reaching the policyholder in case of an earthquake, Within a short period of six months following the earthquake,
and managing the damage assessment process efficiently. If, we completed compensation payments for all reported claims
during the issuance of the policy, the insured or the policyhold- where the documentation was complete and the damage had
er provides inaccurate information regarding the gross floor been officially assessed by the Ministry of Environment, Urban-
area, building type, address, or damage status from previous ization and Climate Change. Our work on the damage notifica-
earthquakes, the compensation amount will be calculated pro- tions received by our institution continued, and as of February,
portionally based on the difference between the premium paid we had received approximately 630,000 damage notifications,
and the premium that should have been paid. To avoid such with total compensation payments exceeding TRY 39.7 billion.
situations, it is very important for policyholders to check their
policies and have any incorrect information corrected.
For the first time in DASK’s history, inflation
How do you evaluate DASK’s performance during and protection has been introduced to the coverag-
after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes? Could you provide es of new policies issued after January 1, 2024.
information about the compensation payments?

Türk Reasürans assumed the role of Technical Operator of
DASK on August 8, 2020, taking on a major responsibility. Was there an increase in Compulsory Earthquake
Since then, we have continuously carried out efforts aimed Insurance policies after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes?
at advancing DASK and creating added value and benefit
for the institution. We have always focused our efforts on The painful experiences following the earthquake influenced
post-earthquake preparedness planning. Operationally, we people’s tendency to get insured, resulting in a rise in insurance
have taken significant steps to enable more efficient process coverage rates. Looking specifically at the Marmara Region,
management at DASK. One of the most important milestones the number of active policies increased by approximately 1 per-
was the opening of our DASK Emergency Management Center cent in both İstanbul and the Marmara region overall after the
in Ankara. In addition, we relocated DASK’s Primary Data earthquake. On a national scale, daily policy issuance rose by
Center to Ankara—a region with lower earthquake risk—while 55 percent in the days following the earthquake. This increase
keeping the backup in İstanbul. We also upgraded DASK’s indicates that citizens acted with an awareness of the need for
technological infrastructure to ensure continuity of operations Compulsory Earthquake Insurance and reflects the trust placed
during earthquakes. We enhanced the speed and capacity of our in the institution.
notification systems to meet current demands.
However, as with all major earthquakes, this upward trend in
Thanks to the significant steps we had taken prior to the earth- policy uptake tends to return to its normal course over time.
quake, we were operationally and financially prepared for a As an institution, our goal is to bring all eligible residences
potential major earthquake. Immediately after the earthquake, under the protection of Compulsory Earthquake Insurance—be-
we launched our full-scale operations at our Ankara Emergency fore any tragic experiences occur. DASK, which is responsible