13.11.2023
Hakan Ülken, Member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), emphasized that as TOBB, they are working to solve the problems faced by insurance agencies and to ensure professional institutionalization and development, and said that they provide all necessary support for agencies and their personnel to specialize and provide better quality service to the insured.
The Insurance Sector
Cooperation Fair and Congress was held in Antalya. Antalya Deputy Governor Erol
Tanrıkulu, TOBB Board Member Hakan Ülken, SEDDK Vice President Davut Menteş,
Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Ali Bahar, TSB Vice
President Ahmet Yaşar and USFK Chairman İbrahim Düzenli made speeches at the
opening of the fair.
In his speech, TOBB
Board Member Hakan Ülken noted that SEDDK, TSB, TCIP, TOBB TCIP, TOBB SAİK and
TOBB SEİK formed a crisis management center, made an emergency action plan and
took the necessary measures urgently since the first hours of the
Kahramanmaraş-based earthquake disaster on February 6th.
Stating that the
Natural Catastrophe Insurance Institution and Insurance Companies quickly
compensated the earthquake damages, Hakan Ülken said, “Our insurance agencies
and insurance experts worked diligently and helped the damage processes and
stood by the insured.”
Stating that the
Kahramanmaraş earthquake once again reminded us of the importance of insurance,
Ülken said, “The importance of having the right policy with the necessary
coverage was clearly demonstrated without hesitation. Unfortunately, in this
process, we frequently encountered the problem of underinsurance, especially in
commercial risks. In some risks, earthquake coverage was provided with high
exemptions or even not provided at all. This situation not only victimized the
insured, but also led to the waste of our national wealth, loss of employment and
market. Unfortunately, it also damaged the trust in the insurance sector.”
- Affirmative action for agencies
Hakan Ülken demanded
that insurance companies apply affirmative action to agencies and said,
“Because they are our hands and arms in the field. Each of them is an insurance
soldier. They serve the insurance sector in our country.” Stating that loss
adjusters, especially those operating in the auto branch, are experiencing wage
problems, Ülken said, “Due to increasing costs, loss adjuster offices are
facing the threat of closure. They are losing their trained qualified staff to
other business lines. We should take measures to increase wages or reduce costs
as soon as possible to ensure the survival of loss adjuster offices.”
Stating that they are
celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Republic and emphasizing
that the insurance of Türkiye is the ideas of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Ülken
said, “Under the guidance of our ancestor, we have come to important points not
even a century ago. Our country, which was said to be unable to produce a pin,
is today the largest industrial country between China and Italy. We have
achieved this together, as Turkish people.”
Ülken said that in
order to prepare for the expected big İstanbul earthquake, industrial facilities
and SMEs should be made more resilient against earthquakes and other possible
risks, and suggested starting an insurance mobilization for SMEs.
Referring to the
process of combating climate change, Ülken said, “Low carbon emissions, clean
energy, hybrid vehicles will gain importance in the near future. Companies that
cannot achieve green transformation will not be able to export to developed
markets. If we do not move forward quickly on this issue, we may lose the
European market, which is our most important market. For this reason, we should
make green transformation our top priority agenda item. In this process, the
insurance sector also has a great responsibility. The sector is expected to
actively participate in the process. As the business world, we expect the
insurance sector to take responsibility for preventive activities and
compensation for damages. In this context, as a sector, we should support green
transformation and offer the necessary guarantees.”