In the Spotlight | Hande Akın Reflects on Türkiye's Disaster Risk Journey and Future

This "In the Spotlight" interview talks about the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP); a pool that has set an example for many other countries across the world. Over the past 25 years, the TCIP has grown to cover more than half of the households across the country. After the devastating February 2023 earthquake, its rapid payouts supported many families and their immediate recovery needs. The TCIP is a unique partnership between the public and the private sector. The government is critical in supporting the pool with regulations, policies, and a financial guarantee. The private sector is vital, especially in its role as agents and through reinsurance markets. This episode will explore the key to its success, some of its features, and future plans.

Chairwoman of Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP), Hande Akin, has been working with insurance and risk for more than a decade. In a country that is extremely prone to earthquakes and has suffered, she is proud to work directly on improving the resilience of her country. In this interview, she explains how TCIP provides affordable, compulsory earthquake insurance to millions of homeowners, highlighting TCIP’s evolution, including its rapid response to the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake. As countries worldwide look to replicate Türkiye’s model, her reflections offer valuable lessons on resilience, innovation, and the power of public-private partnerships in disaster preparedness.

What are the biggest disaster-related challenges Türkiye faces today, and how does TCIP help address them?

Earthquakes have been the most frequently occurring type of disaster in our country over the past 60 years. Most of the nation is situated in an earthquake-prone region. Due to their nature, earthquakes not only affect the region where they occur but also the entire country economically. This means that taking precautionary measures against earthquakes is inevitable. 
Türkiye has a Compulsory Earthquake Insurance (CEI) which provides housing coverage on a per-unit basis. Additionally, it also serves as a mechanism to establish a nationwide earthquake insurance pool. This financial pool becomes key in the aftermath of an earthquake and serves as a security mechanism for those affected by earthquakes. To address needs in the most effective and rapid manner possible our country’s model was designed as a public private partnership and aimed to ensure all residential units with affordable premiums, facilitate risk-sharing, distribute the financial burden through international reinsurance markets,  reduce the state’s financial burden, among others.

TCIP has been a global model for catastrophe insurance. What led to its initial establishment, and what was the purpose?

Following the 1999 Marmara Earthquake, which caused extensive loss of life and property, public authorities implemented a series of measures aimed at minimizing the damage caused by earthquakes. One of the most critical measures taken was the establishment of a regulatory framework for CEI. The Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP, known by its Turkish acronym DASK) began offering CEI coverage for residential properties in September 2000. 
CEI provides financial protection to homeowners against earthquakes and following risks such as fire, explosion, landslide, and tsunami. Regardless of whether the building is rendered uninhabitable or only partially damaged, CEI facilitates the fastest possible compensation for physical damage to the structure.

Can you discuss some key aspects of the structure and operations of TCIP, as well as its evolution from 2000 to 2025?

The TCIP is a public-private partnership providing Compulsory Earthquake Insurance (CEI) to homeowners. Established as a non-profit entity, TCIP works through insurance companies, agents, and banks to offer affordable coverage nationwide. CEI policies are issued under TCIP’s authority, CEI policies are issued under TCIP’s authority and apply only to residential buildings located within municipal boundaries. Since the 1999 Marmara Earthquake, coverage has expanded from 500,000 to over 11.5 million homes, reaching a 57% penetration rate. TCIP promotes earthquake awareness through initiatives like the Earthquake-Resistant Building Design Competition, held since 2014, and the TCIP Truck on the Road Project, which establishes direct communication with citizens. Operational efficiency has improved with the launch of an Emergency Operations Center and upgraded claims systems. As a result, we are now able to receive damage notifications in an uninterrupted manner and simultaneously open 96,000 claim files within 24 hours. TCIP also adjusts coverage limits monthly for inflation. In response to rising climate risks, TCIP is preparing to broaden its scope to include other natural hazards, transitioning toward a comprehensive Compulsory Disaster Insurance model. This new model will enable citizens to receive coverage against all-natural hazards through a single policy.

Speaking specifically about the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake, what was your experience managing payouts and response efforts in the aftermath?

First, we were prepared. We had taken critical steps before the earthquake. These measures ensured that we were operationally and financially ready for a large-scale seismic event. Immediately after the earthquake, we initiated our full-scale operations with the combined efforts of our teams stationed at the Emergency Operations Center and our teams in Istanbul.
To accelerate claims processing after the earthquakes, TCIP proactively opened claim files for severely damaged buildings based on official assessments, issuing the first compensation within 24 hours. Mobile teams and container offices were deployed to affected areas, offering direct support until October 31, 2023. Within six months, all documented claims were settled. The scale of the response was unprecedented: TCIP processed 630,000 claims and paid approximately 40 billion TL, compared to 114,000 claims and 1.4 billion TL in total since its founding in 2000. This highlights the magnitude of the disaster and TCIP’s rapid, large-scale operational capacity.

Looking back at 25 years of TCIP, what would you say are your greatest successes?

We are proud to have accomplished several achievements. One of our top priorities was to ensure that policyholders received their compensation as quickly as possible. During the  Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, we introduced an advance payment system where we paid 20% of the insured amount as an advance for severely damaged buildings and 10% for moderate damage, ensuring swift financial relief. We also launched a fast-track system paying 15% of the insured amount directly, with optional re-evaluation, addressing approximately 400,000 lightly damaged residences. A new protocol with the Banks Association of Türkiye eliminated consent letters, enabling faster transfers, and therefore streamlining payments for mortgaged properties. To improve payment access for policyholders, we partnered with the Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, adding a payment code feature to the e-Government portal. Finally, to ensure the continuity of insurance services during the aftermath of the  Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, we provided support to agents who had lost their offices. Through our collaboration with The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye and IPRSA, we offered container offices and equipment support to help them resume operations.

Given that Türkiye has been a torchbearer of catastrophe insurance, a number of countries are looking to establish similar programs. What advice and key lessons learned would you share with them? 

One of the most critical lessons learned from the Turkish case is the importance of engaging all stakeholders throughout the design and implementation process. The success of the system has relied heavily on building consensus among public institutions, the private insurance sector, technical experts, and civil society—a collaborative approach that has ensured both technical soundness and public trust.
Equally important is strong and sustained state support. In Türkiye, the state played a leading role in establishing the legal and institutional framework for the catastrophe insurance system and has continued to support it. Moreover, Türkiye recognized the necessity of not bearing the financial burden of major disasters alone. By adopting a risk transfer approach and leveraging international reinsurance markets, the country has distributed catastrophic risks globally, thus enhancing financial sustainability and preparedness.
Another key factor in the program’s success is the ability to make accurate and timely payments to policyholders following a disaster. Transparent, data-driven compensation mechanisms have strengthened the public’s confidence in the system, demonstrating that insurance can function as a reliable financial tool in the aftermath of a crisis.

If you could do something differently, what major changes would you make in the workings of TCIP?

If we were to reconsider certain aspects of TCIP’s operations, a major change would be to further deepen and institutionalize our collaboration with the entire insurance sector to significantly increase the penetration rate of CEI. While TCIP has made tremendous progress over the years, one key area for improvement lies in strengthening partnerships with insurers, agents, brokers, banks, and digital platforms to broaden outreach and streamline policy distribution.
Other areas of we could focus on are enhancing sector-wide cooperation to leverage existing distribution networks, integrating digital infrastructure between TCIP and private insurers creating a seamless link and improving overall customer service, and to establish continuous dialogue platforms with sector stakeholders to continuously identify challenges in the field and co-develop innovative solutions.

On a personal level, what excites you most about your work on TCIP?

Serving as the Chairwoman of the Board of TCIP is a profound responsibility and an immense privilege. What excites me most about this work is the deep sense of purpose that comes from knowing that our efforts directly contribute to the safety and resilience of our country and its citizens. TCIP exists to support people in their most vulnerable moments when disaster strikes and lives are disrupted.
In this role, I am inspired by the knowledge that our contributions make a real difference in reducing the burdens of earthquakes. Helping families rebuild their lives, preserving livelihoods, and reinforcing the nation’s resilience is the heart of why TCIP exists. That profound impact on people’s lives is what motivates me every day to lead and serve with dedication and integrity.

Hande Akın graduated from Izmir University of Economics with a double major in Software Engineering and Industrial Systems Engineering in 2011. In 2013, she began working as an Assistant Treasury Specialist at the General Directorate of Insurance at the Undersecretariat of Treasury. She continued her role as Head of Group for Disaster and Engineering Insurances in 2019 in Insurance and Private Pensions Regulation and Supervision Authority. In 2023, she started serving as Head of Department for non-life insurance regulation department, primarily responsible for disaster and engineering insurances, and continues her role as Chairwoman of Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool.