The CEO of Dağlı Insurance shared his thoughts with readers of Kibris Emlak Merkezi about things to consider when buying an insurance policy, popular insurance policies as well as those who are not in demand. Details follow in our article.
North Cyprus is considered to be developed county when it comes to insurance. The volume of individual and commercial insurances is quite high.
The insurance sector has been affected by the pandemic as any other sector but is on the way of recovery. In the beginning of the pandemic, people were saving on insurance policies. The CEO of Dağlı Insurance, Ersan Dağlı says that it is not a good idea to economize on insurance as it is imperative to be prepared for unexpected realization of risks…
Individual insurance as well as corporate insurance policies are in a lifesaving position when accidents happen. Traffic Insurance, House Insurance, Commercial Insurances and many other types of insurances are readily available. Traffic insures rank highest, as they are compulsory. All other insurances are less popular.
We interviewed Ersan Dağlı, CEO of Dağlı Insurance about the insurance sector in North Cyprus. You will find details about the effects of the pandemic, types of insurances and important details not to be missed when buying a policy in our article.
Let’s begin our interview by getting to know you better. Can you tell us more about your company, Dağlı Sigorta?
Dağlı Sigorta is the 15th local insurance company officially established in TRNC on September 1st, 2001. With the excellent support of our team we provide insurance services for individuals and corporate entities for almost every insurance product with the exception of life insurances.
After the release of the new law No. 60/2010 about “Regulation and Supervision of Insurance Services” in 2010 we were the first insurance company among 32 companies finalizing legal requirements to become a certificated insurance company in 2011. Our mission is to provide insurance services complying with EU standards where citizens of the TRNC are compensated without delay in case of possible damages.
The vision of Dağlı Insurance is to reach utmost customer satisfaction by meeting requirements of our customers as a local insurance company with distinguished representatives all over the TRNC within the frame of a stable financial structure and a farsighted management open to change and innovation.
Dağlı Insurance is a local insurance company operating Elementary Branches and is at the forefront of implementing digital innovations as well as others at the Insurance Sector in the TRNC.
“Car Insurances are leading”
What are the most issued types of insurance policies in our country?
Car insurances are the most issued type of insurance policies at the non-life segment followed by fire insurances of homes and commercial properties. Individual Accident policies and Credit Insurances are at the third place and Transportation Insurances covering risks of ships and freight would be the fourth.
“Insurance is not one of the items to economize in a crisis”
What are the issues you would like to bring to the attention of our readers about insurances?
Globally and locally we are dealing with the difficulties of a global pandemic for over a year now. Our social life, economy, education and business life has been deeply affected by Covid-19 which had an impact on the balance of our lives. Understandably the public is inclined to move towards practicing economy in crisis situations.
Many esteemed customers who have never experienced damage or have not realized benefits of an insurance, think of insurance premiums as one of the first saving measures. A lot of insurance holders believe that “Compulsory Traffic Insurance” will be sufficient and refrain from renewing their “Full Coverage Car Insurance”, “House & Household Insurance” and “Commercial Insurance” when they want to save. “Compulsory Traffic Insurance” CANNOT be the only insurance substituting “Full Coverage Car Insurance”, “House & Household Insurance” and “Commercial Property Insurance” as life goes on with all its risks.
We are all aware of the hard times experienced by individuals and the community in general. However, measures undertaken by individuals or institutions solely cannot remove all risks in life unfortunately. Sometimes people find themselves involved in accidents without any fault or negligence of their own. Furthermore, there is an increased risk of suffering earthquakes, storms, flooding and submersion and many other damages due to climate change. Every so often the precipitation of almost one year in cubic meter comes down in heavy rainfalls in one day. As Dağlı Insurance we offer the most appropriate and affordable packages to all our customers to cover their specific needs.
We would strongly recommend our individual and corporate customers to choose the most appealing insurance package according to their budget and never to compromise by not insuring their valuables.
“We are the first company in Cyprus where you can buy an insurance policy online”
How has the insurance sector been affected by the pandemic?
The total premium production compared to the same period of the previous year has decreased but has subsequently has recovered in following months.
Thanks to our investment in digitalization, Dağlı Insurance has been able to adapt to the extraordinary circumstances quite quickly. We facilitated this period of time to be effective and solution oriented. Our website has been upgraded and is now available in 4 languages. We reinforced our infrastructure and provided the option to pay online as well as buying compulsory traffic insurance online. We were able to make substantial collections through our website during the lockdown.
Through our application, we were the first insurance company to realize online payments by remote access. We collected premium payments of our customers using mobile phones just by typing in personal information and registration plate number of their car. The system we set up has been a pioneering application in the history of the insurance sector in the TRNC. It was one of the few remarkable innovations during the pandemic. We were able to transform our already existing infrastructure in a very short time and our customers appreciated this.
Many of our damage and after damage related procedures like expertise and documentation have been successfully moved to digital media. Our success inspired us to proceed with an online e-Insurance application, which we launched on May 4th ,2020. Encouraged by the positive response and flow of work we announced the extended version of the application on September 10th, 2020; the first application for online insurance policies in Cyprus. We are proud to be the first and only insurance company being able to provide such service to our customers not only in our local sector but island wide in Cyprus.
Construction All Risks Insurance
Could you tell us about the “Construction All Risks Insurance”?
In addition to unforeseeable and sudden damages related to construction activities, the Construction All Risks Insurance covers risks of the project on;
- Natural Disasters (Earthquakes, Flooding, Storm, Landslide, Submersion…)
- Fire, Lightning, Explosion
- Theft
- Building site and Operational Hazards
- Negligence and Sabotage
Issues not covered by the construction insurance are pointed out to the insurance holder at general conditions and special conditions of the insurance policy. Usually, all hidden and natural faults of the construction; damages gradually appearing over time which are not considered sudden damages are not within the scope of a policy.
What is the difference of a company insuring or not insuring a construction?
A company which has an insurance is compensated after an unexpected loss or damage within the frame of its insurance policy. Those who don’t have an insurance are to cover their loss out of their own pockets.
The importance of a Construction All Risks Insurance in fact lies with the ability to provide the continuation of the project and to avert loss of capital, work force and time.
“Pay Attention to These Details When Buying a Construction All Risks Insurance!”
How are premiums of Construction All Risks Insurances calculated?
The premiums of a Construction Insurance are calculated based on:
- Project Costs
- Costs of construction plant and equipment
- Cost of temporary building site and facilities
- Number of Employees
- Project Duration
The insurance amount should be determined based on the estimated cost at the finish of construction. In other words, the insurance amount is the project cost. This is can be complicated sometimes. To avoid complication, the insurance amount could be predicated on the tender price. However, this prediction is not reliable when the project spans over a length of time and inflation rates are high. Therefore, the best method to protect big constructions against the risk of insufficient insurance would be to issue the insurance based on foreign currency.
“Insurance premiums are not budgeted”
Another topic is home insurance. Are home insurances common in our country?
The percentage of home insurances is very low in our country.
The mentality of fatalism is still dominant and insurances and the necessary mindset of having an insurance is way below of how it should be. Of course, low income of the majority is another factor. I’m really sorry to say that the negligence of budgeting for insurance is also a cultural thing.
“Key Points When Buying a Home Insurance”
What are important points to take care of when buying a home insurance?
When comparing quotations of home insurance packages of different insurance companies, there are two main things to be considered. What kind of assurances does the policy cover and does the policy cover particular kinds of hazards?
Usually insurance companies leave it to the customer to declare the value of goods. The right thing to do is to reach a consensus about the value with the representative of the insurance company and to declare this mutually agreed amount at the insurance policy.
When valuing the building it is important to know that the reconstruction cost of the building will be taken into consideration as the insurance amount.
Let me explain it further; the value of the land should not be taken into consideration when calculating the insurance amount, as the land will remain in any case. However, the type and quality of construction and finishing material like doors, flooring, kitchen and similar items determine the real value of the building and are therefore factors to be considered.
All information written in the policy should be accurate. The gross size of the house, type of construction, the address, insurance value of the building and household goods and of course annexed buildings like the garage and the pool should be declared.
Another important point to research and be very clear about are things not covered by the insurance. Otherwise parties could end up in disagreement when a compensation claim is filed.
And of course there should be no outstanding payments of the insurance policy. Insurance companies consider unpaid policies as inactive.
“Remote Access Customer Satisfaction “
Do you have a message for people planning to get an insurance?
We live in the age of technology. It is very easy to access the website of Dağlı Insurance and get a quotation and have a policy issued. We are the only insurance company which was able to provide remote access during the pandemic. Our customers are highly satisfied and we are proud to be able to provide this opportunity.
What are your impressions about Kıbrıs Emlak Merkezi, providing special content, news and investment opportunities in Turkish, English and Russian to investors planning to invest in North Cyprus?
In one word: I think it’s excellent.
This is the way of how it should be done. The meeting point for everyone thinking about buying something is the area of technology and websites. I observe and follow that you do the very best and see that you are successful. My sincere congratulations!
KIBRIS EMLAK MERKEZI
Tags: dağlı insurance, ersan dağlıSubscribe to our mailing list to access the latest news
