Turkey: Govt spells out goals for insurance in medium-term plan
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Nov 2017
Turkiye
The Treasury and the insurance sector have reached a consensus on increasing the contribution of insurance to the economy under the government’s Medium Term Programme (MTP).
The MTP, announced in September and covering 2018-2020, includes goals for the insurance industry. It sets out objectives related to the individual pension system, as well as credit and surety insurance, reported Turkey Telegraph.
Treasury Undersecretary Osman Çelik, who hosted a meeting with insurers to discuss the MTP, said: “The size of the insurance sector needs to be enlarged. The Treasury wants to be in close cooperation with the sector in this regard.
“In this context, participation insurance, surety insurance and credit insurance will be developed, new financial products will be offered, and the real and financial sectors supported.”
The goals of the MTP for the insurance sector include:
- Credit insurance, which serves to compensate for losses that may arise due to non-payment of a commercial receivable, will be promoted;
- An arrangement will be made to allow SMEs to use surety insurance instead of a bank guarantee letter, to facilitate their operations;
- Eximbank will extend the application of export credit insurance and allow exporters to obtain more support from commercial banks; and
- The Private Pension System will be expanded by increasing coverage and encouraging subscribers not to exit it early.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said that the main objective of the MTP is to achieve sustainable economic growth by maintaining macroeconomic stability, raising the quality of human resources and expanding the labour force.