Real estate — an important acquisition in the life of every person. To protect private assets from unpleasant situations, insurance practice is widely used in any civilized society. Also in the Republic of Turkey, it is common for real estate investors to take out insurance.
Insurance in Turkey most often concerns earthquakes. However, to fully protect their assets, owners increasingly prefer insurance in several areas at once, choosing policies with broad coverage.
In Turkey there is compulsory and voluntary insurance. In our latest publication, we will try to consider in as much detail as possible this topic that is relevant for many of our clients.
Compulsory property insurance
Compulsory earthquake insurance in Turkey is called DASK. Dogal Afet Sigortalari Kurumu is regulated by Law No. 587, which was adopted in 1999 after a strong earthquake that occurred on the shores of the Sea of Marmara.
Literally a couple of years after the devastating event, a special insurance pool against natural disasters (TCIP or Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool) was created. As practice has shown, in a short time TCIP has become one of the most successful insurance methods in the world. The program is regulated by the Turkish government, operates throughout the country and is aimed at timely compensation for damage caused to real estate due to an earthquake.
DASK insurance is renewed annually and will be needed by foreigners when registering a certificate of title (TAPU) at the Cadastral Chamber, during the registration of subscribers for the provision of utilities (water, electricity).
Insured event for real estate in Turkey, according to the terms of the DASK program, occurs if damage from the earthquake affected :
- foundation;
- supporting parts of the structure;
- corridor;
- ceiling and floor (in particular, if cracks or breaks have formed on them);
- roof and chimney system;
- stairs and elevator shafts;
- other parts of the building where the structural elements already listed above are present.
Damage caused by:
- movable property;
- buildings for other reasons that are in no way related to seismic activity;
- as well as for injuries sustained as a result of an earthquake.
In addition, the costs of cleaning and garbage removal caused by tremors are not covered.
The cost of real estate insurance directly depends on the following characteristics:
- Object location: Turkey is divided into different regions according to the level of seismic hazard, and in areas with the least probability of earthquakes, the price of the policy will be low.
- Area: for larger apartments, owners will have to pay more.
- Structural features of the building: it matters what construction technologies were used during the construction of the facility.
For example, Alanya is located on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and is considered one of the safest cities in Turkey, since strong earthquakes do not occur here. The earthquake insurance pool at the resort is minimal and amounts to 25–150 €.
In addition, when applying for a DASK insurance policy, the cadastral price of the property is taken into account (that is, the amount specified in TAPU).
Important!
If an insured event occurs, the state pays the owner the amount stipulated in the contract. However, from 2021 the maximum payment should not exceed 268,000 TL.
Turkish compulsory earthquake insurance policy is issued if:
- copies of TAPU;
- TIN issued by the Turkish Tax Service;
- foreign passport.
You will have to spend no more than half an hour on the procedure. It is also possible to submit an application online by going to the website https://www.dask.gov. tr/tr.
Voluntary property insurance
Voluntary home insurance in Turkey, unlike the DASK pool, covers a wider list of insurance risks. In particular, you can take out a policy in case of:
- fires;
- lightning strikes;
- hail;
- explosions;
- storms, hurricanes, storms;
- floods, mudflows;
- mountain landslides, etc.
In addition, voluntary insurance covers theft, intentional damage to property, arson and other unlawful intentional acts. Not only houses and apartments, but also commercial premises, as well as land plots are subject to insurance.
As part of voluntary insurance, foreign citizens have the opportunity to order additional insurance options for antiques, jewelry, works of art and other valuable property.
When signing an agreement with an insurer, it is important to take into account all insured events and the type of property to be protected, the amount of payments, as well as the rights and obligations of the parties. Damage coverage occurs after an assessment by specialists. Depending on the chosen company, the time frame can vary from several weeks to several months.
The procedure for compensation for losses due to an insured event consists of submitting an application to the organization with which you entered into a contract. The following documents are attached to the application:
- insurance agreement;
- passport and tax number;
- TAPU, confirming ownership of real estate;
- documented facts of the occurrence of an insured event and its causes;
- a document indicating the estimated amount of losses caused.
The insurer must be notified within 5 days.
The most popular, experienced and reliable private insurance companies in Turkey:
- Anadolu Sigorta (https://www.anadolusigorta.com.tr/): the largest Turkish organization, whose activities started in 1925.
- Acıbadem Insurance (https://www.bupaacibadem.com.tr/): a reliable and popular company in the field of property and health protection.
- Aksigorta (https://www.aksigorta.com.tr/): in demand among individuals and companies due to the provision of a wide range of insurance services.
- Allianz Insurance (https://www.allianz.com.tr/tr_TR.html): the international organization ranks 20th largest among insurance companies in the world, has more than 75 million clients, and has an extensive staff of specialists.
- Sompo Japan Sigorta (https://www.somposigorta.com.tr/): operates in the Republic of Turkey and Japan, which has the second largest insurance market in the world.
We have listed only some of the popular private insurance organizations operating in the Republic of Turkey.
We hope that in our article you have found comprehensive answers to questions regarding the Turkish insurance system. As the owner of an apartment in Turkey, you don’t have to worry about your property during your absence.
In turn, Point Property specialists are always happy to help you not only in finding a suitable property and completing a legal purchase and sale transaction, but are also ready to answer any questions, be it the protection of real estate, heating in Turkey, arrangement of apartments or profitable investment areas in the Turkish housing market.
These materials have been prepared for informational purposes and are not of a commercial nature.
Point Property — is a certified real estate agency that specializes in providing a full range of real estate services for residential and commercial real estate transactions in Turkey. Our company takes care of all the organizational aspects of a real estate transaction: searching for an object, organizing a sightseeing tour, assistance in collecting documents and checking the legal purity of documentation, support in re-registration of ownership. In addition, we provide our customers with a wide range of after-sales services.
