An umbrella insurance law is needed under the leadership of the Insurance and Private Pensions Regulation and Supervision Agency (SEDDK) that can formulate fast solutions specific to the Turkish market, according to speakers at a virtual forum organised on 28 April by the Turkish Association of Insurance Practitioners (STD).
The most important issue is the ability to introduce regulations quickly under a single authority in response to market developments, forum participants were told.
Quick Sigorta general manager Ahmet Yasar stated that there have been studies on the subject for many years, but the lack of order in the regulatory system could not be eliminated, according to a report in Insurance Gazette. He said that an umbrella law is a condition for a sustainable and predictable insurance industry.
STD president Fahri Altingoz summed up the problems which the insurance sector faces. “One of the main problems of the sector is penetration. We need driving forces to increase penetration. 70% of the companies in our industry are foreign partnerships or international ventures. Continued investment appetite and new investors are very important. In this respect, growth is the most important issue.”
The second important issue is regulation, he said. Pointing to the disorder in the current regulatory regime, he said, “In a disorganised structure, regulation in response to a need may be delayed.”
At present, in addition to the Insurance Law, there are separate pieces of legislation regulating the activities of different professions in the insurance industry (eg brokers, loss adjusters, etc.) and different types of insurance (eg life insurance, reinsurance, etc). The different laws fall under the purview of different ministries, which makes it difficult to adopt required solutions in a timely manner. For example, regulation relating to traffic insurance is in the Highways Traffic Law, and the insurance contract is mostly covered by the Turkish Commercial Code.
Giving an example of needed change, AXA Sigorta CEO Yavuz Olken said that digitalisation is the current trend. “We need regulations covering information disclosure obligations.” M