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Transparency in Insurance Contract Law pp 459–483Cite as

Transparency in the Insurance Contract Law of Turkey

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Part of the book series: AIDA Europe Research Series on Insurance Law and Regulation ((ERSILR,volume 2))

Abstract

The provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code (TCC) related to insurance law (Articles 1401–1520) are placed in the Sixth Book. The title of the Sixth Book is the “Insurance Law”, which goes far beyond the (Turkish) legislator’s will because a review of the provisions under this title shows that only “insurance contract law” is regulated here. These provisions, almost seventy percent of which were drafted in mandatory form, do not grade the risk. Thus, the person who is in front of the insurer on the contract table, whoever he is, becomes the “consumer of insurance”, and gains the protection of mandatory provisions of the Sixth Book of Turkish Commercial Code (TCC). That is, a “merchant” title of the person getting insurance protection will not prevent to take the protection of the mandatory provisions. In other words, these provisions provide the same degree of protection to an industrial company and a housewife under an insurance contract.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Unan (2016a), p. 3. According to the mentioned author, right title should be “Insurance Contract Law”.

  2. 2.

    Unan (2016b), p. 5.

  3. 3.

    Act No: 5684; Date: 3.6.2007; OR Date: 14.06.2007, No: 26552. This Code was prepared in line with the “National Programme of Turkey for the Adoption of the EU Acquis”.

  4. 4.

    Bozer (1981), p. 8; Yazicioglu (2003), p. 42; Ozer (2005), p. 24; Tasbasi (2005), p. 66.

  5. 5.

    Unan (2016a), p. 99.

  6. 6.

    Unan (2016a), p. 99.

  7. 7.

    Unan (2016b), p. 3.

  8. 8.

    Unan (2016b), p. 3.

  9. 9.

    OR Date: 14.4.2008, No: 26847 (repeating).

  10. 10.

    OR Date: 21.06.2008, No: 26913.

  11. 11.

    Yazicioglu (2010), p. 31.

  12. 12.

    Unan (2016b), p. 4.

  13. 13.

    Unan (2016a), p. 1.

  14. 14.

    Unan (2016a), p. 553.

  15. 15.

    Bozer (1981), p. 23.

  16. 16.

    Bozer (1981), p. 33.

  17. 17.

    Kender (2011), p. 162.

  18. 18.

    Bozer (1981), p. 52; Kender (2011), p. 163.

  19. 19.

    Unan (2016a), p. 71.

  20. 20.

    TCC Article 1434(3): If any of the subsequent installments was not paid at the relevant maturity date, the insurer shall notify the policyholder by way of a registered letter or a notice served through a notary public that payment must be effected within ten days, failing which the contract is to be deemed as having been terminated at the expiry of the ten-days-period. If the outstanding amount remained unpaid at the expiry of this period, the contract shall be terminated. Any additional rights of the insurer arising under the Turkish Code of Obligations in respect of the policyholder’s default are reserved.

  21. 21.

    Kender (1975), p. 15; Arseven (1987), p. 24; Ozer (2005), p. 22.

  22. 22.

    Kabukcuoglu Ozer (2012), p. 9.

  23. 23.

    Ozer (2005), p. 24; Tasbasi (2005), p. 66.

  24. 24.

    Rayegan (1968), p. 3.

  25. 25.

    Unan (2014), p. 173.

  26. 26.

    Kender (1975), p. 16; Bozer (1981), p. 33.

  27. 27.

    Kabukcuoglu Ozer (2012), p. 153; Can (2012), p. 28.

  28. 28.

    Regarding the view that this implementation should be changed since the mandatory provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code provide adequate protection; see Unan (2012), p. 77.

  29. 29.

    Kabukcuoglu Ozer (2012), p. 153.

  30. 30.

    Arseven (1987), p. 30.

  31. 31.

    Can (2009), p. 260 et seq.; Kabukcuoglu Ozer (2012), p. 152; Memis (2016), p. 5 et seq.

  32. 32.

    Havutcu (2003), pp. 4–5; Atamer (2011), p. 13 et seq.

  33. 33.

    Unan (2016b), p. 31.

  34. 34.

    Bahtiyar (2008), p. 151; Memis (2016), pp. 16–19; Can (2006), p. 1; Yazicioglu (2003), p. 40; Ceker (2011), pp. 7–8; Ozdamar (2009), p. 131; Unan (2014), p. 173; Atamer (2011), p. 15; contra Yesilova (2015), p. 466.

  35. 35.

    Havutcu (2003), p. 79; Atamer (2001), p. 61 et seq.

  36. 36.

    Havutcu (2003), p. 88.

  37. 37.

    Atamer (2013), p. 134.

  38. 38.

    For details see Ozdamar (2009), p. 240 et seq.; Yazicioglu (2014), p. 202 et seq.

  39. 39.

    Within the framework of the information obligation of the insurer, it is not enough to sign and give the form, verbal explanations should also be made (for details see Ozdamar 2009, p. 240 et seq.); explanation of the provisions one by one and agreement of the counterparty is not adequate for the conclusion of an “individual contract”; to accept the existence of this, “negotiation” or possibility to negotiate, i.e., having the opportunity to bring concrete alternatives should have existed (Atamer 2013, p. 128 et seq.).

  40. 40.

    Regarding the view that one should question the qualification of the insurance contract as a contract of adhesion, see Bozer (1981), p. 35. In the Doctrine, Can also states that the insurance contract cannot be accepted to be a contract of adhesion because of special conditions, which could change the general conditions of the insurance; implicitly the last mentioned author accepted that the policyholder has the power to negotiate and influence the content of the contract (Can 2009, p. 279).

  41. 41.

    See Article 11 Insurance Activities Code.

  42. 42.

    Havutcu (2003), p. 49.

  43. 43.

    Unan (2013), p. 13.

  44. 44.

    Yazicioglu (2003), p. 51.

  45. 45.

    Kender (1975), p. 77; Yazicioglu (2003), p. 52.

  46. 46.

    On the other hand, there is also a view in the Doctrine that the judge shall review the legal compliance of the general conditions of the insurance, and the Court shall investigate and determine the violation of the mandatory provisions, without regard to the fact that the Insurance General Conditions are drafted and approved by the administration (Karayalcin 1984, p. 206; Bozer 1981, pp. 34, 54; Kender 2011, p. 171; Bahtiyar 2008, p. 158; Can 2012, p. 29).

  47. 47.

    Unan (2013), p. 26.

  48. 48.

    For detailed information see also Karayalcin (1984), pp. 212, 234, 235; Memis (2016), pp. 8–10.

  49. 49.

    Kender (2011), p. 172.

  50. 50.

    Yazicioglu (2003), p. 48.

  51. 51.

    Atabek (1974), p. 78.

  52. 52.

    “Regulation Regarding Insurance Contracts about Information Obligation of Insurers” (OR Date: 28.10.2007; No: 26684).

  53. 53.

    However, the legislator chooses the name of the Regulation mentioned in the footnote above as “Information”.

  54. 54.

    Yazicioglu (2014), p. 198; also see Ozdamar (2009), p. 126 et seq.

  55. 55.

    Yazicioglu (2014), pp. 200–201.

  56. 56.

    Articles 10 and 11 of Regulation Regarding Insurance Contracts about Information Obligation of the Insurers.

  57. 57.

    Article 6(2) Regulation Regarding Insurance Contracts about Information Obligation of the Insurers.

  58. 58.

    Article 9(5) Regulation Regarding Insurance Contracts about Information Obligation of the Insurers.

  59. 59.

    Unan (2016a), p. 389.

  60. 60.

    For the insurer to be deemed liable for notification, the existence of the negotiation has to be notified to the insured within the time required for the fulfilment of “pre-contract notification duty” or to be notified in other ways (Seker Oguz 2010, pp. 62, 63, 67).

  61. 61.

    Article 1412 TCC: “Where this Code attaches any legal consequence to the policyholder’s behavior or knowledge, the same consequence shall attach also to the behavior or knowledge of the insured, or representative or in cases of life insurances of the beneficiary, provided that they were aware of the insurance contract.”

  62. 62.

    Unan (2016a), pp. 123–125.

  63. 63.

    For more details see Oztan (1966), pp. 26, 27; Unan (2016a), pp. 407, 408; Agsakal (2015), p. 33.

  64. 64.

    Seker Oguz (2010), pp. 22, 31.

  65. 65.

    Senocak (2014), p. 108.

  66. 66.

    Agsakal (2015), pp. 44–48.

  67. 67.

    Agsakal (2015), p. 46.

  68. 68.

    Agsakal (2015), p. 44.

  69. 69.

    Unan (2016a), p. 425.

  70. 70.

    Unan (2016a), p. 502.

  71. 71.

    Unan (2016a), p. 504.

  72. 72.

    Unan (2016a), p. 506.

  73. 73.

    TCC Art. 1427(2): “Following materialization of the risk, the obligation to pay the insurance indemnity or the fixed sum shall fall due, when the insurer has completed its investigation about its obligation, after the documents related to the risk are given to it and in any event within forty five days from the date of notification made according to Article 1446. In life insurances this period shall be fifteen days. If the investigation was delayed because of a fault that cannot be attributed to the insurer, the period shall not begin to run”.

  74. 74.

    Unan (2016a), p. 507.

  75. 75.

    Unan, Semp, 165.

  76. 76.

    Unan, Semp, 165, 166.

  77. 77.

    Regarding the view that considering electronic mail, CD, DVD, memory card or other technological devices equal with the paper by the permanent data storage provision would not be appropriate in terms of the consumers who does not use technology, see Unan (2014), p. 170.

  78. 78.

    Unan (2014), p. 169.

  79. 79.

    Unan (2014), p. 170.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Izmir Democracy University, Izmir, Turkey

    Ecehan Yesilova Aras

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  1. Ecehan Yesilova Aras
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Correspondence to Ecehan Yesilova Aras .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Legal Studies, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milano, Italy

    Pierpaolo Marano

  2. School of Law, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

    Kyriaki Noussia

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Aras, E.Y. (2019). Transparency in the Insurance Contract Law of Turkey. In: Marano, P., Noussia, K. (eds) Transparency in Insurance Contract Law. AIDA Europe Research Series on Insurance Law and Regulation, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31198-8_19

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