Turkey’s Mandatory Earthquake Insurance Coverage Stagnates at 58%: Market Implications

In Turkey, only 58% of residential properties carry the mandatory earthquake insurance (DASK), leaving a substantial portion of the housing stock uninsured.

Current State of Mandatory Earthquake Insurance

Since its inception in 2000, DASK has recorded 1,397 damage‑causing earthquakes and received 867,275 notifications, underscoring the system’s operational scale. The peak seismic activity occurred in 2020 with 175 earthquakes, followed by 123 in 2021.

Regional Coverage Distribution

■65% – Marmara Region (highest coverage)

■64% – Eastern Anatolia

■63% – Southeast Anatolia

■59% – Aegean & Mediterranean

■51% – Central Anatolia

■45% – Black Sea Region (lowest coverage)

These figures reflect higher insurance uptake in areas with frequent seismic events.

Financial Burden and Payout Capacity

DASK processed 540,000 claims within nine months after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, disbursing TL 39 billion in damages. The total loss amounted to $104 billion, of which $5.5 billion was covered by the insurance sector and $1.6 billion fell within DASK’s payment capacity.

Future Outlook and AI Integration

■The 100% coverage goal remains unmet; the agency has codified this as a statutory target.

■A 5‑year roadmap includes AI‑driven claims assessment and product distribution pilots.

■The upcoming Mandatory Disaster Insurance (ZAS) law aims to broaden coverage to include floods, hail, and fire.

Markets will price in heightened external financing needs and elevated risk premiums in sovereign bond markets if DASK’s coverage does not improve beyond the current 58%. AI‑enabled claims processing could boost payout efficiency, reducing capital strain on insurers and mitigating long‑term liquidity risk.