IMPLEMENTATION PRINCIPLES IN SEEKING COMPULSORY EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE WHILE SUBSCRIBING TO ELECTRICITY SERVICES (CONNECTION CONTRACTS) AND THE SUBSCRIBER CHANGE TRANSACTIONS (RETAIL SALES CONTRACT)

1) The following provision is included in Article 11 of the Catastrophe Insurance Law No. 6305, “The existence of compulsory earthquake insurance is checked by the relevant institution in the water and electricity sub&ion transactions, which are made regarding the buildings and independent sections covered by the compulsory earthquake insurance.”

2) Compulsory Earthquake Insurance, in general, is a type of insurance that has been put into practice for dwellings within the boundaries of the municipality. Article 10 of the Catastrophe Insurance Law defines the buildings under its coverage as follows: “Independent sections which are within the scope of the Property Ownership Law No. 634 dated 23 June 1965, buildings built as dwellings on immovable property registered in the title deeds and which are subject to private ownership, independent sections located within these buildings which are used for commercial or office space and similar purposes, and dwellings built by the State or with loans provided due to natural disasters are subject to compulsory earthquake insurance.

On the other hand, buildings belonging to public institutions, buildings in and around village settlement areas and hamlets built by those who are registered to the village population and are permanent residents of the village, and buildings which are entirely used for non-residential purposes, despite falling within the scope of Law 634 on Property Ownership are not subject to Compulsory Earthquake Insurance.

3) Compulsory Earthquake Insurance coverage is provided by the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (the TCIP). Insurance policies are issued by the insurance companies authorized on behalf and on account of the TCIP, their agencies and bank branches.

4) Along with the buildings built as a detached dwellings on immovable property, the activation of electricity and water sub&ions (connection contract) and subscriber change procedures (retail sales contract) for dwellings subject to Law 634 on Property Ownership and construction servitude must be completed after checking that the Compulsory Earthquake Insurance has been carried out. The sub&ion process cannot be completed without such checks.

5) During the sub&ion procedures, the existence of the insurance policy must be confirmed by one of the following methods and entered into the records of the electricity distribution company.

a) Electronic inquiry (the TCIP web service application): With the help of the web service offered by the TCIP, the policy information can be confirmed by performing an inquiry in an electronic environment. For electronic inquiries, help can be requested from the “info@dask.gov.tr” e-mail address.

b) Inquiry via www.dask.gov.tr: Where the number of the policy of the residence, for which sub&ion will be made, and the national ID number of the owner of the dwelling are declared verbally or in writing, the policy information can be confirmed by entering the policy number and the national ID number in the “policy inquiry” section of the TCIP website.

c) Performing transactions with the original policy: Those who do not wish to use any of the methods set out above may request the original policy and perform transactions by confirming the accuracy of the address information on the policy.

6) After the inquiry and confirmation have been completed, the Compulsory Earthquake Insurance policy number must be noted in the electricity distribution company's own records. As of 18 August 2012, all inquiries within one year will be submitted electronically over the TCIP web service specified in clause (a) of Article 5.

7) In all inquiries, attention should be paid to confirming that the address in the policy records matches the dwelling for which the sub&ion will be established.

8) Due to the fact that buildings which are entirely allocated to commercial or industrial purposes are not covered by the insurance, Compulsory Earthquake Insurance is not required for applications for sub&ions whose sub&ion address is an office block, business center, administrative service building, education center building or a similar building and for buildings whose construction is still in progress.

9) It is possible for the compulsory earthquake insurance to be held by the owners, beneficiary holders or by tenants. In the event that the policy is held by the tenant, the national ID number of the owner is stated in the policy and the tenant is listed as the "insurant" and the owner as the "insured" in the policy. The insurance premium paid by the tenant for such policies may be collected from the owner or deducted from the rent.

10) It is possible to obtain information by telephone by contacting the “Alo DASK (TCIP) 125” line or by email by contacting info@dask.gov.tr in regard to any hesitation that may arise regarding the application.

HOW DO I PURCHASE COMPULSORY EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE?

Compulsory earthquake insurance was implemented after the Marmara earthquake on 17 August 1999 to cover the material losses to dwellings caused by earthquakes. Compulsory Earthquake Insurance coverage is provided by the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (the TCIP), which is a public legal entity and a non-profit organization. Insurance policies may be issued by insurance companies authorized on behalf of and on account of the TCIP, their agencies and bank branches. Insurance companies undertake the role of intermediary when issuing compulsory earthquake insurance, and in the event of any loss, compensation is paid by the TCIP.

Compulsory earthquake insurance may be purchased through any of the following ways:

1) Directly from the head office of the insurance companies,

2) From any insurance agency,

3) From any bank branch