The insurance sector creating added value in the growth of the Turkish economy continues to grow despite the negative effect caused by the pandemics on all sectors. Fahri Altıngöz, Assistant General Manager of Aksigorta stated that codification is the effect which will accelerate the existing success rate of the insurance sector and said: “It is essential to reform the legislation and to establish a legislative framework. It will be right to entitle a public authority to gather insurance legislation under one and inclusive text and to provide coordination between the legislative provisions for the development of the sector.”

There should be a legislative framework

Fahri Altıngöz stated that insurance has been tried to be documented under one legislation since 1956 and said “Studies for insurance code have been carried out for long years. But, unfortunately, we do not have a final form of legislation. Today, legal regulations regarding insurance are set forth with many laws. There is a dispersed structure including the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and Environment, and Finance Ministry. In addition to insurance law, we are utilizing many laws such as protection of the consumers, highway law, disaster relief, civil aviation, debts, SSI, civil code, bankruptcy, and enforcement law. Therefore, there may be some delayed actions and the demands are not met in time. This is a barrier in the sector. In this sense, establishing a legislative framework by making reforms in the legislation will accelerate the business process in insurance and affect the growth of the sector positively.”

A regulation necessity in compulsory insurance

Fahri Altıngöz asserted that compulsory insurance should be re-evaluated in terms of growth of the sector and added “Unfortunately, risk awareness is very low in the society. While we are doing our best to provide insurance awareness in society as a sector, I think regulations of a public authority are also essential in this regard. It is necessary to take supportive actions immediately with a number of regulations regarding compulsory insurance in the public. It is required to address the present problems in insurance urgently and to include some insurance products in the compulsory insurance category like cyber insurance which has a low awareness despite its huge risk. Especially in Turkey, failure to have a cybersecurity specialist in SME environment over 3 million causes consequent cyber attacks. It is essential to make cybersecurity insurance compulsory for SMEs and to reestablish the structural infrastructure accordingly.”