DASK – what’s it all about
THE need for the foreign community to get earthquake insurance (DASK) for their properties is becoming more important every year – particularly given the increasing number of tremors the region has experienced in recent weeks.
While some expats in Didim have allowed their DASK insurance to slip off their personal radars in recent years, Turkey has been upgrading its laws surrounding the issue.
New regulations have been adapted which effectively ban new water and electricity connections to properties without DASK cover, as well as house insurance.
The number of houses covered by earthquake insurance showed a considerable rise since the Disaster Insurance Code, which made earthquake insurance compulsory for water and electricity subscription applications, came into force in August 2012.
The government hopes the reach of the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (DASK) will increase and, back in 2012, sought to reach a DASK target of 10 million insured houses by 2017.
But aside from quake insurance, much remains to be done, with more than 19.5m homes in Turkey. Official estimates indicate that as many as six million are in urgent need of replacement as they do not meet the more stringent building codes introduced in the wake of the 1999 quake.
What is DASK?
DASK stands for Doğal Afet Sigortaları Kurumu (compulsory Earthquake Insurance). It corresponds to the Department of Insurance for Natural Disasters and was introduced after the 1999 Goluk earthquake.
How is it calculated?
The insurance premium figure depends on 3 factors:
The earthquake risk zone where the building is located,
Construction style used for the building,
Gross area of the residence.
Is there a cap limiting the insurance?
DASK covers a maximum amount of insurance TRY160,000 for all building types as of 1 January 2016. This is increased every year
Is DASK compulsory for every building?
Disaster Insurances Law No. 6305 stipulates that buildings constructed as residential and registered with the land registry office under private ownership, residential units described in Property Ownership Law No. 634, and office units in residential buildings need to have DASK.
DASK is an insurance system for residential buildings within the municipality administrative zone and it is not compulsory for Public buildings, residential units in villages, units in buildings solely for commercial and/or industrial purposes, and buildings that are not in compliance with zoning and engineering rules.
Compulsory Earthquake Insurance Coverage
TCIP indemnifies the material damages – which are caused by earthquakes and the fires, explosions, tsunami and landslide that are caused directly by the earthquake within the limits stated in your policy.
The building parts – which are mentioned below – are covered collectively or separately:
Foundations,
Main walls,
Common walls separating the independent sections,
Garden walls
Retaining walls
Ceilings and basements
Stairs
Elevators
Platforms
Corridors
Roofs
Chimneys
Supplementary sections of the building which have similar qualities to those mentioned above
Incidents not covered by CEI
Compulsory Earthquake Insurance indemnifies the material damages in your building that are caused by earthquakes. The losses which occur due to the following incidents are not covered:
Debris removal costs
Loss of profit
Business interruption
Loss of rent
Alternative residence and workplace costs
Financial liabilities and similar other losses which can be claimed
All kinds of movable properties, goods, etc.
All bodily injuries and death
Non-material damages
Losses which are not caused by the earthquake.
Independently of the earthquake, damages which occur in time due to the flawed structure of the building
You can choose different homeowners policies for this type of losses in addition to your Compulsory Earthquake Insurance.
For more details about DASK then log on to www.dask.gov.tr and click on the English translation for more details about DASK.