The Turkish insurance industry should see growth in non-auto branches, with fire and natural disaster, general damage and general liability expected to stand out this year, according to the president of the Turkey Insurance Association (TSB).
With the current economic growth trend, progress is also expected in complementary health insurance, said Mr Atilla Benli.
According to Insurance Gazette, he also said, “With the recovery of the economy, movement will begin in products such as credit insurance and surety insurance. Cyber insurance is increasing in importance day by day. Penetration in this area will also increase in 2020. In line with the expansion in loans, life insurance will continue to develop. There will also be improvements in care insurance products. Growth in participation insurance (takaful) will continue too.”
The effects of rebalancing in the economy started to be seen in the insurance sector in the second half of last year, he said.
“There is such a great potential in the insurance sector that our sector can continue to grow in every situation. As of the end of October 2019, we increased our total premium production by 24% compared to the same period of the previous year and reached a production of approximately TRY54.5bn ($9.2bn).
“While non-life production was around TRY46bn in the first 10 months of the year, production on the life side approached TRY9bn in the same period. Our sector achieved a growth rate of 14.3% in real terms in the first 10 months last year compared to the same period of the previous year. Real growth in the period in question was 35.5% in the life branch and 11% in non-life. Likewise, as at the end of October 2019, total premium production in participation insurance reached TRY2.8bn, an increase of 61.2% compared to the same period of the previous year.”
Mr Benli said recent policies and measures have been promising for the development of the insurance industry, noting that one of the most important developments for the industry in 2019 was the establishment of the new Insurance Regulation and Supervision Authority (SDDK).
“The most important benefit of SDDK is that it is located much closer to the sector and is capable of rapidly issuing regulations in areas needed by our sector,” he added. M
TRY1 = $0.17