Which insurance may cover which loss
Comprehensive motor insurance, household insurance, and business-premises insurance do not provide the same protection. The schedule of cover, special conditions, endorsements, and deductibles should be examined rather than relying on the name of the policy. It is also necessary that the insurer’s liability had commenced and was continuing on the date the loss occurred.
Principal check in respect of flood damage:
- Comprehensive motor insurance (kasko): Whether flood and inundation cover exists for the vehicle
- Compulsory motor third-party liability: Does not cover the vehicle’s own flood damage; it is directed to legal liability toward third parties
- Household: Flood cover, and which of the building and the contents are insured
- Business premises: Flood cover and the policy scope for the building, fixtures, machinery, and goods
- Compulsory earthquake: Does not cover rainfall and flood damage that is independent of an earthquake
Flood cover under comprehensive motor insurance and the nature of vehicle damage
Under Article A.4.5 of the General Conditions of Comprehensive Motor Insurance for Land Vehicles, flood and inundation are risks that may be brought within the cover by an additional agreement. Taking out comprehensive motor insurance alone is therefore not sufficient. Whether flood cover has been included in the policy, and any limitations if it has, should be checked. Conduct that may increase the loss, such as operating a damaged vehicle, is also assessed separately.
Compulsory motor third-party liability insurance does not cover the vehicle’s own flood damage. If a vehicle swept away in a flood collides with another vehicle, legal liability toward the third party, the way the event occurred, and a force majeure defence are examined separately. Neither automatic payment nor automatic rejection can be inferred from every collision.
Major damage and total loss must also be distinguished from each other. Under SEDDK Circular No. 2025/12, the criterion for major damage is that the repair cost including VAT exceeds 60 percent of the vehicle’s value on the date of the loss. Below that ratio as well, the loss adjuster may make a major-damage assessment because of damage to certain parts listed in the annex to the Circular. For a total loss, it is required both that the repair cost exceeds the value of the vehicle and that an adjuster’s report establishes that the vehicle is not capable of repair. The 60 percent threshold does not, by itself, mean a total loss or an unconditional payment of market value.
Damage to the battery of an electric vehicle does not, by itself, produce an automatic total loss either. Damage to the battery and related systems should be assessed by a technical examination as to repairability, safety, and cost. Before the vehicle is restarted or connected to a charger, the guidance of an authorized service and of the insurer should be obtained.
The building and the property inside it are examined separately for homes and business premises
In the General Conditions of Fire Insurance, flood and inundation are regulated among the additional covers. If only the building is insured under a household policy, it cannot be said that the contents of the home are automatically covered. A tenant’s belongings, the owner’s interest in the building, and damage to common areas should be separated according to the insured interest concerned.
The generalization that commercial goods at a business premises must always be insured under a separate policy is also incorrect. Goods may be covered under the same business package policy. What is decisive is that the goods are included in the subject matter of the insurance in the policy, that the address where they are kept and their use are correctly described, that the sums insured are adequate, and that the flood risk is covered. Business interruption, loss of profit, or loss of rent is not paid automatically together with direct property damage; the relevant additional cover and its conditions are required.
The source of the water may change the applicable cover
Inundation caused by rainfall, sewer backup linked to rainfall, the bursting of a plumbing pipe, and water leaking from the roof may be subject to different provisions on cover. The flood and inundation clause and the internal-water clause in fire insurance should therefore be examined together. For example, water backing up from the sewer because of rainfall is regulated in the flood clause, whereas a burst pipe may be the subject of another cover. The appearance of the damage alone should not be relied on; the point at which the water entered and its cause should be documented technically.
Compulsory earthquake insurance does not cover rainfall-related flooding
The Compulsory Earthquake Insurance provided by DASK covers the earthquake and the damage caused to the insured building by fire, explosion, tsunami, or landslide occurring as a result of the earthquake. Rainfall and flood damage that has no connection with an earthquake is not within the scope of this policy. Household contents are not covered by Compulsory Earthquake Insurance either. In the case of flood damage, the cover under the household or business-premises policy should be investigated.
Loss notification and evidence should be prepared without delay
Article 1446 of the Turkish Commercial Code requires notification to be made without delay once the insured event is learned of. The general conditions of comprehensive motor insurance and of fire insurance also contain a duty to notify within five business days at the latest. It is appropriate to give notice through a channel that can be proved, and to obtain a file number, without waiting until the end of the period. Late notification does not, by itself, extinguish the indemnity in full. For the reduction regulated in the Code, it is assessed whether the delay increased the amount payable and how serious the fault was.
Life safety and necessary interventions take priority. At the same time, to the extent possible, the following records should be created before cleaning or repair.
- Dated photographs and videos showing the general appearance of the damage, the water level, and the points of entry
- A list of the quantity, nature, and value of damaged belongings, machinery, and goods, together with invoices and stock records
- For a vehicle, tow-truck and service records, fault diagnoses, and repair quotations
- Where available, fire-service, municipal, and law-enforcement reports, and camera recordings
- Documents for evacuation, drying, protection, and repair costs, and the notifications made to the insurer
Except where it is necessary, damaged property should not be destroyed, and the nature of the damage should not be altered, before the loss adjuster’s examination. If destruction is required for health and safety reasons, the situation should be documented in detail and the insurer should be informed. If evidence is likely to disappear within a short time, requesting preservation of evidence from the court may also be considered.
The indemnity calculation and the expenses should be checked together
The payment calculation takes into account the actual loss, the limit of cover, the applicable deductibles, and any underinsurance provisions. Particularly at business premises, sums insured that remain below current stock and machinery values may also reduce a partial-loss payment when the conditions are met. A market-value offer under comprehensive motor insurance should be compared with the vehicle’s characteristics on the date of the loss and with market data. If it is agreed that the damaged vehicle will remain with the person entitled, salvage—that is, its value in the damaged condition—is addressed separately in the calculation.
The whole of the costs of cleaning, drying, and debris removal is not covered unconditionally in every package policy. The relevant cover and limits should be examined. In addition, the statutory right to reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred to prevent or reduce the loss under Article 1448 of the Turkish Commercial Code is assessed separately. The calculation of a payment offer and the basis of any deductions should be requested in writing. Before broad releases or settlement texts are signed, their effect on the remaining claims should be examined.
The payment period and default interest should be followed
Under Article 1427 of the Turkish Commercial Code, the indemnity becomes due when the insurer’s investigations are completed after the documents relating to the insured event have been provided and, as a rule, no later than forty-five days after notification of the loss. The period does not run if the examination is delayed for a reason that cannot be attributed to the insurer. Shorter special payment periods are reserved. Once the sum is due, the insurer falls into default without any further notice, and a claim for interest arises according to the applicable conditions.
If the investigations cannot be completed within three months of the notification, payment as an advance of at least fifty percent of the loss amount that is established promptly comes into question, subject to the preliminary adjustment and quantification conditions regulated in the same article. Being told that the file is under review does not make it unnecessary to assess the payment timetable and the right to an advance.
Arbitration or court proceedings may be considered where there is a rejection or an underpayment
The reason for rejection, the policy provision relied on, and a breakdown of the calculation should be obtained from the insurer in writing. Article 1409(2) of the Turkish Commercial Code is also taken into account as regards proof of a defence that the loss falls outside the cover. On an application to the Insurance Arbitration Commission, the conditions of application are examined, including whether the relevant company is a member of the arbitration system and the date of the insured event. As a general rule, the necessary application to the insurer must have been made and the claim must have been rejected in whole or in part. Failure to give a written reply within fifteen business days is also a ground for application.
In material damage to motor vehicles, however, SEDDK Institutional Circular No. 2026/02 must also be taken into account. If an adjuster was appointed in time and it is documented through the systems of the Insurance Information and Monitoring Center that the report could not be completed for reasons that cannot be attributed to the insurer, a dispute consisting of a claim that has been rejected, or of a reply that does not meet the claim, is not deemed to exist under the Circular. For that reason, arbitration should not be pursued while the adjustment process is continuing merely by counting days.
If litigation is chosen, the competent court and mandatory mediation as a condition of the action are determined according to whether the relationship is a consumer transaction or a commercial matter. Arbitration and litigation are not conducted together for the same dispute. The appropriate route is chosen according to the scope of the claim and the state of the file.
Limitation and rights against other responsible persons should be preserved
In property insurance such as comprehensive motor, household, and business-premises insurance, the general limitation period under Article 1420 of the Turkish Commercial Code is two years from the date the claim becomes due. In claims for indemnity, an outer period of six years from the date of the insured event is also observed. Special provisions are reserved. The fact that the claims file is open, or that correspondence with the insurer is continuing, does not by itself justify acting on the assumption that limitation has been interrupted.
Insufficiency of the insurance cover does not automatically remove the possibility of turning to other persons who may be responsible. If there is an allegation of a defect in the structure or the installation, a lack of maintenance, or a failure in an infrastructure service, the liability of the relevant person or administration, the causal link, and the time limits for application are examined separately. The fact that a flood has occurred does not require force majeure to be accepted as automatically releasing every responsible person in every case. It should also be borne in mind that the same loss cannot be collected more than once, and that the insurer’s rights of subrogation are observed.
This article is intended as general legal information. In a specific case, the policy and the loss documents should be assessed together.