Turkish insurers have set aside about 1.9 billion lira to cover flood damage from last week’s torrential rain, according to figures from the Insurance Association of Türkiye (TSB), with Istanbul responsible for the overwhelming share of claims.
The association said outstanding claim reserves stood at 1,904,994,494 lira across 2,379 files in the fire and motor branches. Storms hit Istanbul, Kocaeli, Antalya, Yalova, Bursa and Sakarya, but the heaviest losses followed the downpour that flooded parts of Istanbul and killed two people on Oct. 15.
Homes and shops account for most claims
Fire policies, which in Türkiye usually include optional cover for flood and water ingress, made up 1.56 billion lira of the reserves across 1,638 files. Istanbul alone accounted for 1.39 billion lira, followed by Kocaeli with 164 million lira.
Comprehensive motor insurance, known locally as kasko, accounted for 346 million lira across 741 files, of which 312 million lira was in Istanbul.
In total, insurers received 2,453 damage notices under flood cover. In Istanbul, fire-branch notices split into 821 residential, 563 commercial and 102 industrial cases.
Payouts have barely started
Payments are moving slowly. By the time of the report, insurers had paid out on just 13 fire claims worth a combined 389,535 lira, almost all in Istanbul, and no motor claims had yet been settled. Assessments typically require an adjuster’s visit before money is released.
The association said around 5.2 million policies currently in force in the affected provinces include flood and water-ingress cover.
What foreign homeowners should check
The figures are a reminder that Türkiye’s compulsory earthquake insurance, DASK, does not cover floods. Flood protection comes only through a separate home or contents policy, often sold as a fire policy with add-on cover, and many owners do not buy one unless a bank requires it for a mortgage.
The Istanbul municipality has paid 10,000 lira each to around 5,000 flood victims as emergency relief, while the government has begun demolishing stream-bed buildings in Ayazağa. Buyers weighing a property should factor insurance into the full costs of buying a home in Türkiye.
Sources
Photo: ALTUGD / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
