Turkey vehicle insurance premiums spark demand for reform

Turkey’s vehicle insurance market is under pressure as TESK General President Bendevi Palandöken warned that soaring traffic‑insurance and casco premiums are leaving many drivers unable to insure their cars. He highlighted that out of 34 million motor vehicles, only about 7 million have mandatory traffic insurance and roughly 9 million have casco coverage, while 25 million lack adequate protection. Palandöken called for an urgent, fair pricing model to stop “people paying almost as much for insurance as for the car itself.”

Turkey Insurance Union President Ahmet Yaşar responded, saying price differences reflect varying risks and that “if risks are not the same, prices cannot be the same.” He corrected the uninsured‑vehicle figure, noting that 2.6 million of the counted vehicles are motorbikes excluded from traffic‑insurance requirements, reducing the true uninsured rate to about 16 percent. Yaşar emphasized the need for competition to provide affordable coverage for all motorists.