Turkey: Vehicle owners paid over $1B in compensation

ANKARA

Insurance companies paid vehicle owners in Turkey 2.45 billion Turkish liras ($1.05 billion) for January-October period of 2014, Insurance Association of Turkey said Wednesday.

Insurers collected 3.6 billion liras ($1.5 billion) premiums from their customers.

According to the association's figures, the payment of compensations decreased by 4.5 percent compared with the same period in 2013.

The companies received around 1.37 million applications, a decrease of 9.5 percent, compare with 1.5 million in the first nine months of 2013. Automobile compensations came first with 925,710 applications, followed by trucks.

The number of vehicles registered in Turkey reached over 18.6 million in October 2014, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, out of which cars represented 52.2 percent, followed by small trucks 16.3 percent, motorcycles 15.2 percent, tractors 8.6 percent, trucks 4.1 percent, minibuses 2.3 percent, buses 1.1 percent and special-purpose vehicles 0.2 percent.

Minimum third-party liability insurance is required for all vehicles in Turkey and proof of insurance must be carried at all times. This insurance is called Compulsory Traffic Insurance and covers the cost of damage for the other vehicle if a road accident takes place.

However, only 26.5 percent of Turkey’s vehicles are under full automobile insurance, according to Mehmet Kalkavan, the secretary-general of the Insurance Association of Turkey. "It constituted nearly five million vehicles in the country," Kalkavan said.  

He said insurance premium was very cheap compared with foreign countries because of low wages and competition in the country.

It is possible to take additional insurance for theft, fire and vandalism, and the premium paid for this depended on a number of factors, including vehicle age, engine capacity, make and model, and will vary from one insurance company to another.

- LPG-fuelled automobiles

Most automobiles in Turkey use Liquefied Petroleum Gas instead of gasoline for fuel, according to Turkstat.

LPG is a preferred fuel in Turkey because of its price advantages. Gasoline and diesel fuels have levied taxes making these fuels less preferable.

There are 9.754 million automobiles in the country. More than four million automobile owners, or around 41.4 percent, prefer to use LPG, while the remaining 29.3 percent use gasoline and 28.9 percent use diesel.

LPG-fuelled automobiles increased by 3.243 million in the last 10 years since 2004, when gasoline-fuelled cars decreased by 1.2 million in the same period.

www.aa.com.tr/en