Insurance

The Insurance chapter examines Turkey’s relatively small insurance market, which has seen steady growth with the expansion of the nation’s GDP. The sector is dominated by banks, which provide the most accessible outlets for customers. The sector is extremely crowded and very competitive, which has made it difficult for insurers to grow their business. Despite the challenges, however, gross written premiums increased some 21.5% in 2011, to TL17.2bn (€7.3bn). The sector is dominated by the non-life business, however, the government has expressed its desire to grow the life segment, encourage savings, and thus create a much-needed pool of institutional money to finance current accounts. This could see important changes in the sector in the coming years.