According to information compiled by TRAMER pertaining to May, there are a total of 14,610,170 cars registered in Turkey. While 10.5 million of these cars have automobile insurance, 3.5 million do not. The province with the highest number of uninsured vehicles is Manisa with 206,715 insured cars and 170,773 uninsured. Manisa is followed by Şırnak, Kars and Niğde.
TRAMER Director Mehmet Üst told the Anatolia news agency that tractor-trailers and motorcycles are among the types of vehicles that most often lack liability insurance. Noting that a quarter of vehicles in Turkey do not have insurance, Üst said uninsured cars are like traveling mines. “The financial and material damage uninsured vehicles cause to third parties generally cannot be reimbursed without the insurance system.
Since uninsured cars pose a risk to the public, the penalty for those who don't buy a policy can be as heavy as impounding the car. Thanks to a system developed within TRAMER, we have decreased the number of registered cars without automobile insurance from one in three in 2004 to one in four. The goal of the public and insurance companies is to make sure there are no vehicles in traffic that do not have insurance. We believe this goal can be achieved if the TRAMER system is supported with an effective vehicle auditing system,” he said.
Noting that every country has its own perception of risk, Üst explained that the need to take out an insurance policy is felt more strongly in economically developed countries than in developing countries. He predicted that the rate of insured cars will increase as the economy develops.
Stating that there were 28 insurance companies licensed to sell auto insurance policies as of the end of August, Üst said: “Auto insurance is financial liability insurance that pays for damage done to third parties. In most accident cases, it takes a long time to determine who is at fault … This lengthy administrative and legal process stretches damage reimbursement payments by auto insurance [companies] over many years and causes vehicle damage costs to increase by the year. Although auto liability insurance provides a public benefit, it functions within the private insurance system.”
