Number of residence insured with Compulsory Earthquake Insurance has exceeded 8 million and rate of insurance has reached nearly 50 percent across country during the 18th year of Marmara Earthquake of August 17, which has deeply shaken Turkey with serious losses of life and property. Murat Kayacı, Chairman of Turkish Catastrophic Insurance Pool (DASK) has underlined that earthquake reality should never be forgotten and that we should always stay vigilant. He said: “We are working rapidly towards the goal of having satisfactory resources to compensate for losses in case of a potential earthquake in İstanbul, as well as with the aim of managing all the operational process of catastrophes efficiently and using technological tools. We also develop collaborations with other relevant Public Authorities. Currently, we are talking about a successful portfolio that has reached an insurance rate of 84 percent in Düzce, 75 percent in Bolu, 74 percent in Yalova, 69 percent in Tekirdağ and Sakarya, and 55 percent in İstanbul and Marmara Region as a whole. However, our ultimate target is to insure all residences with compulsory earthquake insurance.”
Marmara is the first region in terms of insurance rate
According to the statistics by DASK/TCIP, Marmara is the first region among others in terms of insurance rate with 55 percent; followed by Central Anatolian Region with 44 percent and Aegean Region with 43 percent. Mediterranean has the third highest rate with 38 percent; while Black Sea follows closely with 37 percent. Eastern Anatolian and Southeastern Anatolian Regions have the lowest rates with 35 percent and 32 percent, respectively.
Insurance rates are higher in cities where earthquakes have hit
It is clear that cities that were hit by earthquakes have higher rates of compulsory earthquake insurance ownership. The first three cities is a proof: Düzce, Bolu and Yalova.
As to the rates in cities that have been hit by earthquakes in recent months, Çanakkale has the highest rate with 60 percent among others. Muğla (Bodrum) follows with 56 percent, Manisa with 39 percent, and Adıyaman with 32 percent.
An example for the rest of the world
On the other hand, DASK is regarded as a model by other countries with the number of policies it holds, size of its pool, and its technological infrastructure. Many countries, particularly Pakistan, İran, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and Romania have based their systems on the Turkish model; while DASK has been sharing informing about the Pool and Compulsory Earthquake Insurance with representative institutions from Britain, Japan, Greece, Italy, Philippines, China, Mexico, Macedonia, Jordan, Morocco, Albania, Indonesia, Romania, Kuwait, and Azarbaijan.
Chairman Kayacı reminded that Turkey is located on an earthquake zone, and added: “We should not forget about the reality of earthquake, and we must always be prepared and vigilant. In the past, we have seen that we can lose many lives that were built with such big efforts, in a single night. Although it is impossible to prevent earthquake as it is a natural phenomenon, we can prevent its destructive impacts. As DASK, we have been raising awareness about what should be done before and after potential earthquakes via our projects; and are working towards becoming a country that is prepared for the earthquakes and that can recover rapidly following the catastrophe.”
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