istock-495147329_nick_thompson_istanbul-turkey
istock/nick_thompson_istanbul-turkey
23 September 2019Insurance

Turkish insurers held back by underwriting losses and economic volatility: AM Best

Sentiment on the Turkish insurance market has become less optimistic in recent times, as it has generated poor underwriting performance for most market participants.

That’s the view of AM Best, a credit ratings agency that specialises in the insurance industry.

Turkey has historically provided great opportunities for investors, offering high economic growth potential and a unique “east meets west” position, said AM Best. This has prompted most foreign insurance groups to set up or acquire operations in Turkey to take advantage of the huge economic potential.

AM Best added: “However, more recently, with elevated geopolitical tensions, currency devaluation, high inflation, changing financial regulation and an insurance market that has consistently generated poor underwriting performance for most market participants, sentiment is less optimistic."

Many global insurers now think twice about investing in Turkey, with those present considering their options, said AM Best.

The agency notes that as a result of Turkish insurers potentially significant exposure to catastrophe risk from earthquake events, many domestic insurers have limited net exposure to large property and engineering business as a result of ceding the bulk of commercial risk to reinsurers and the majority of individual property risks being absorbed by the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP).

Get all the latest re/insurance industry news with our daily newsletter -  sign up here.

Nephila looks to cut Lloyd's cost using automation technology

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance enters Spain

Starr Insurance restructures western US operations

‘Dive In’ to highlight import​​ance of gender balance and mental health worldwide

Zurich unveils new group chief risk officer

Management reshuffle at Italian insurer HDI Global

DARAG poaches new group COO from Zurich

Feature:  10 ways insurers are using insurtech to drive new business

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Elliot Field at efield@newtonmedia.co.uk or Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Insurance
19 September 2019   Ratings agency AM Best has assigned a financial strength rating of A (Excellent) with a ‘stable’ outlook to Brit Reinsurance (Bermuda), a wholly-owned subsidiary of specialty re/insurer Brit, reflecting a "very strong" balance sheet.
Insurance
27 September 2019   Ratings agency AM Best has revised the outlook of specialty insurance company ProAssurance Corporation to negative from stable, expressing concern over its operating performance in recent years.
Insurance
1 October 2019   Sub-Saharan African markets remain attractive to international reinsurers taking a long-term view, according to the ratings agency AM Best.