Insurance penetration rate in Turkey 2000-2022

In Turkey, the penetration rate of insurance services was quite low, ranging between one and 1.5 percent from 2000 to 2022. In 2016, 2020, and 2022, the insurance penetration rate peaked at 1.5 percent in the country.

Insurance ownership among Turks

Even though the insurance market demonstrated promising growth in the past couple of years, the insurance density in Turkey did not follow an upward trend. In 2021, insurance density in the country amounted to 134 U.S. dollars per capita, a decrease of 34 U.S. dollars from the peak value recorded in 2013. As the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for insurance has been skyrocketing lately, many Turks may not be able to afford it as much as they used to. This is also supported by the results of a survey conducted in 2021, where almost half of the respondents stated that they would not be able to afford to take out any insurance in the future.

Which insurance types are in demand?

As for the most popular types of insurance among Turks, the vast majority owned health insurance, followed by car insurance. On the other hand, some types of insurance are compulsory in Turkey, such as earthquake insurance, which has been required for residential buildings in urban areas since 2001. The policies cover the material losses which are directly caused by an earthquake and any fire, explosion, tsunami, or landslide that might occur as a consequence of an earthquake. By the end of 2022, the number of earthquake insurance policies in the country reached nearly 11 million.