Turkey: Govt extends credit insurance protection, pledges reinsurance support
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2020
The Treasury and Finance Ministry is providing reinsurance cover for commercial credit insurance to support the economy, particularly SMEs.
The reinsurance cover is for the State Supported Commercial Receivable Insurance System for SMEs, said the Insurance Association of Turkey (TSB). The government-funded commercial credit insurance system, established in 2018, aims to protect SMEs against collection risks.
In addition, a new phase of the system has been implemented since 1 April 2020, as part of the road map prepared for the development of the system.
The credit insurance system, which previously covered micro and small firms with an annual net sales revenue of less than TRY25m ($3.7m), now also covers medium-sized enterprises that have annual net sales revenue of up to TRY125m.
TSB president Atilla Benli said the reinsurance cover is for risks arising from insurance contracts concluded in the period from 1 April 2020 to 1 April 2021. The risk cannot be transferred through other reinsurance and retrocession deals.
He added that credit insurance claims can be submitted online through the system’s website, aldsigortasi.gov.tr. The insurance limit is TRY750,000 for each buyer.
Turkey has taken several steps to cushion the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and in particular, the protection of SMEs is a top priority as these enterprises provide the majority of employment in the country. M
TRY1 = $0.15