Turkey: Half of total housing with quake insurance located in high-risk region
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Oct 2018
Half of the total insured housing in Turkey is located in the region with the highest earthquake risk, according to data from the Natural Catastrophe Insurance Pool which provides DASK or compulsory earthquake insurance.
About 4m policies out of a total of 8.5m DASK policies in the country are generated from first-degree risk areas. DASK was established in 2000 after the Golcuk and Duzce earthquakes in 1999.
In addition, the data showed that half of the total number of insured dwellings was built in 2007 and after. One of the criteria that determines the price when compulsory earthquake insurance is bought is the age of the building. As the age of the building increases, the premium rate that needs to be paid increases.
Only 48.4% of dwellings in Turkey have compulsory earthquake insurance, reported Insurance Gazette citing the latest monthly statistics published by DASK. The Marmara region has the highest insurance coverage rate of 58% among the seven regions in the country, while the lowest insurance rate is in Southeast Anatolia region, at 34%.
Agencies generate TRY561m ($86.7m) or 54% of total premium production in 2017. Banks produced premiums amounting to TRY433m with a 47% market share. In all, 32 insurers are authorised to provide compulsory earthquake insurance. Total premiums from this branch of business rose to TRY946m in 2017, 14.8% higher than the TRY824m received in 2016. M
TRY1 = $0.15