The grievances of citizens affected by the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş and Hatay regarding insurance payments are being ended. Lawyers who are closely involved in the process announced that there have been legal developments in favor of the earthquake victims and that citizens will no longer be victims.
While the effects of the earthquakes that occurred in Kahramanmaraş and Hatay about a year ago still continue, legal developments regarding the problems of earthquake victims regarding insurance payments continue. As a result of the changes made recently in the Compulsory Earthquake Insurance tariff, which is one of the strongest financial measures against earthquakes, it was reported that as of 2024, the guarantees of the policies will increase every month at the rate of inflation and the basic unit square meter value of the buildings has been increased. Lawyer Enes Ayberk Sandal stated that the Natural Disaster Insurance Institution (DASK) made its payments after the earthquakes at 508 TL per square meter, that is, the old tariff, on the grounds that the addendums expressed in the form of changes in the insurance policy were not made. He announced that he had decided in his favour.
Lawyer Enes Ayberk Sandal said, “DASK made the payment at the old tariff on the grounds that no addendum was made, to the detriment of the earthquake victims, after the earthquake event that we all want to forget but cannot be forgotten for centuries. When we were asked about this issue, we did the necessary research. We reported that the new tariff was published in the Official Gazette on November 25, 2022, and with this tariff, DASK's liability per square meter in policies was increased from 508 TL to 3 TL, and the maximum coverage was increased from 16 thousand TL to 320 thousand TL. " said.
“We ensured that decisions were made in favor of earthquake victims”
Lawyer Enes Ayberk Sandal pointed out that with the publication of the new tariff, the earthquake victims insured by DASK should be duly informed and said, “DASK did not provide such information to the citizens. It is against the normal flow of life to impose responsibility on citizens for an issue that they are not even aware of. When we evaluated all these together, we thought that DASK was legally unfair and took the issue to court and ensured that decisions were made in favor of the earthquake victims. "At this point, we expect DASK to make payments based on the current tariff," he said.
“The new tariff should be valid for all policies”
Speaking on the subject, Lawyer Yusuf Enes İman said, “Considering the nature and public interest of Compulsory Earthquake Insurance, it is clear that the amount specified at the beginning of the policy cannot be valid until the end of the policy, and the tariff published in the Official Gazette must be applied for all policies in force. There is no provision to the contrary in the relevant legislation. In this type of insurance used to heal the wounds of disaster victims, making payments based on the old tariff is outside the rule of equity. The tariff change in 2022 consists of updating the increase in construction costs due to inflation and the square meter values on which the loss is calculated. For this reason, it will not be possible for an increase that would lead to unjust enrichment for the policyholder. The values in the new tariff consist of the unit cost of construction, that is, the cost of reconstruction. He concluded his words by saying: "The fact that earthquake victims, who have already been displaced from their homes, receive payment below the reconstruction costs is contrary to DASK's principles of providing social benefit."
“Apart from the current judicial decisions on this issue, we also have an advisory decision of the Ombudsman Institution stating that DASK's approach is legally wrong. However, this decision did not solve DASK's insistence on payments made according to the old tariff. Our wish is that DASK will implement the tariff dated 25 November 2022 for earthquake victims and make payments based on the prices in the new tariff.”