Assetsure are able to offer insurance for an Turkey holiday home. Holiday home purchase in Turkey has been escalating quite dramatically in the last few years. Once considered a backwater for European holiday makers and property buyers, the combination of cheap property prices, beautiful weather and welcoming culture has seen a surge of development as Turkey becomes a popular location to obtain a second home. In particular, travel package providers and Holiday TV companies have been focusing on Turkey and the images of the beautiful white beeches and Turquoise water around Oludeniz on the South West Coast are particularly inviting. This’ Turquoise Coast” region is now considered to be one finest beech resorts in the world and with flights becoming cheaper and more readily available, holiday home purchase in the region is set to continue at a steady pace. Prices are considerably lower than those obtainable in Spain and the region is experiencing wide scale growth
Turkey is located at the northeast end of the Mediterranean and is where Europe meets Asia. To the North is the Black Sea and to the West the Aegean. It’s near neighbours are Greece, Bulgaria, Russia, UKraine and Romania. The Dardanelle’s, the sea of Marmara and the Bosporus divide the country. Part of Turkey rests above the North Anatolian fault, which is wedged between two large tectonic plates, Eurasia and Africa/Middle East. These plates occasionally grind together which can create earthquakes. For this reason, when you buy holiday home insurance in Turkey, you will need to make sure that your policy is compliant with all local laws. In Turkey, there are basically two types of property insurance and you can buy it locally or from a company based in the United Kingdom that have the appropriate licence to sell Turkish property Insurance.
Types of Property Insurance -the two type so property insurance are:-
Compulsory – known as DASK (The Turkish Catastrophic Insurance Pool -TCIP). This mandatory insurance was introduced to provide compulsory Earthquake Insurance. Insurance companies are authorised to sign insurance agreements with the name and account of TCIP. Insurance is mandatory for all buildings except public establishments and property constructed on village settlement areas. The potential for large scale disaster had become a major concern for the Turkish government partially following Earthquakes in the 1990s and this led to the setting up of the TCIP. The government considered that they were exposed to possible large compensation claims as catastrophe insurance had not been widely purchased. TCIP has now established itself as trusted provider of Earthquake insurance and has extended cover to over 2 million homes. Property that requires compulsory Earthquake Insurance:-
- If you Home is located within council borders you will need to buy compulsory earthquake insurance.
- Private buildings that are owned by individuals that have deed papers
- Independent parts of buildings that come under Law No: 634**
- Parts of buildings that are being used as offices, shops etc. that are contained within the principal building.
- Buildings that have been constructed by the government after a disaster or buildings that have been built for the same reason with finance that the government has provided.
Non Compulsory Property Insurance – this includes holiday home insurance and can now be purchased from a number of overseas product providers that are licensed to provide building and contents insurance in Turkey. When purchasing your policy make sure that you enquire as to what arrangements are make for the purchase of compulsory Earthquake cover. Insurance polices obtained from a UK insurance provider will usually cover all the perils you would expect to find on a UK home insurance policy, such as Fire, Storm, Tempest Flood etc however, earthquake cover is usually restricted to excess of loss, that is amounts above the limits provided by TCIP. you will need to check the construction of your property as more often than not, unless it is built with a steel concrete carcass, cover is not available.
* In Turkey, they have a specific law that deals with Flat ownership. This law, Turkish Flat Ownership Law (Law No : 634 ) states that for a building with more than 8 independent units, the owners have to organise and elect a management committee and also vote and elect a: Manager, Site Supervisor, Secretary and other independent members. The Main building, will be managed by estate owners and the management style is decided together with the owners by the committee taking in to consideration the provisions of law.
Do you need Earthquake Insurance in Turkey ?
The terrible earthquake in Chile in 2010 has raised public awareness over the need to make sure your home or property insurance includes the peril of earthquake. You should check your policy schedule in conjunction with the policy document or if you are unsure, ask who ever arranged the insurance for you. If you are not covered, you may be able to purchase insurance as an optional extra. Thankfully, earthquakes that cause wide spread property damage and injury are not that common, however, as much as a third of the world’s population lives in areas considered to be’at risk” and the need for insurance protection is therefore obvious. When they do occur, they can cause substantial and costly damage. Certainly if your building, is damage by seismic activity, you may find the cost of the repairs to be expensive and beyond the means of your budget. Chile’s largest insurer, Royal & Sun Alliance Seguros Chile, a subsidiary of the RSA Insurance Group has announced to investors that the recent earthquake, which measured 8.8 on the Richter scale, will cost the company an estimated 30million in claims. It is thought that Royal Sun Alliance has a 20% share of the market in Chile. The peril of earthquake is standard under home insurance policies in most countries, this means it forms part of the core policy wording and you thus receive cover as part of a range of perils. However it should be pointed out that this tends to be in the countries that have little exposure to this type of loss. In the United States of America, the peril is not included as standard and you have to buy it as an optional extra. In Europe, seismic activity is fairly low in northern countries such as the United Kingdom & Germany. As you travel, south the chances of earthquake seem to increase. Certainly, if you own a home or holiday home in France, Italy of Greece, you will want to make sure that you have adequate insurance protection in force ( you may have to purchase as an optional extra) In Turkey, earthquake insurance is compulsory and you must must buy a certain level from the government, this is known as DASK. DASK will usually cover about 30% of the rebuild cost and you may be able to purchase top up cover if required. In some European countries, there are strict building regulations governing the construction of properties that may be affected by Earthquakes. Many insurers will want confirmation as to the construction of your property prior to agreeing to provide cover.
