What Is Professional Indemnity Insurance in Türkiye?

What Does the Cover Respond To?

Professional Indemnity Insurance (Mesleki Sorumluluk Sigortası) responds, within the policy limits, to compensation claims a professional faces for loss caused to third parties in practice. In Türkiye this is not a single product: the Professional Liability Insurance General Conditions, published in the Official Gazette of 26 May 2013 (No. 28658), set a framework; profession-specific clauses shape it; and a few activities have general conditions of their own.

Article A.1 confines the cover to the insured's "professional activity as stated in the policy, described by the parties and bounded by that description". That is the most important sentence in the document: scope is fixed by the wording of the activity, not by the professional title. Drawn narrowly, it can leave some of the work actually performed outside the cover.

The final paragraph of the same article extends entity-based policies. Where the insurance is taken out for liability connected with the insured's business, and unless the contract provides otherwise, it also covers the liability of the insured's representative and of the persons engaged in the management, supervision and operation of the business.

The territorial limit is in Article A.2: the insurance applies to professional activity carried out within the borders of the Republic of Türkiye. Cover for activity performed abroad may be agreed separately.

Occurrence Basis and Claims-Made Basis

The general conditions do not impose one trigger. Article A.1 offers two, and the parties may choose either or both. The choice determines which events and which claims the policy will answer.

Under limb (a) the cover responds to loss from an event occurring during the policy period where compensation is claimed during that period or afterwards — an occurrence basis. Article B.1 gives this substance: the risk materialises where, because of activity carried out during the policy period, third parties suffer loss in that period or within two years of its expiry.

Under limb (b) the cover responds to claims that can be brought against the insured only during the policy period, in respect of an event occurring before the contract was made or while it was in force — a claims-made basis with a retroactive date. Article B.1 sets a floor: that period cannot be shorter than one year.

In practice a newly qualified professional may be served by limb (a), while someone with a long practice and legacy files depends on limb (b). Changing the trigger at renewal can leave earlier years unprotected.

Profession Clauses and Compulsory Lines

Article C.10 states that annexed clauses may contain provisions specific to them. Four profession clauses are annexed to the conditions in force:

A clause does not make the insurance compulsory; it only shapes how the cover works for that profession. Compulsion comes from separate legislation, and for certain activities SEDDK publishes free-standing general conditions.

• Physicians' Clause — claims for non-pecuniary (moral) damages are covered provided they stay within the policy limits and do not exceed 50% of that limit.
• Clause for Accountants, Certified Public Accountants and Sworn-in Certified Public Accountants — the two-year period in Article B.1 becomes five years; a longer period may be agreed.
• Lawyers' Clause — covers loss from failure to perform the retainer properly, breach of the duty of care, or other negligent conduct.
• Insurance Agencies' Clause — loss from agency activity carried on without registration in the Registry (Levha) falls outside the cover.

Absolute Exclusions and Buy-Back Sections

Exclusions are built in two tiers, and this is where wordings are most often misread. Article A.3 contains absolute exclusions: claims arising from activities outside the professional activity defined in the policy; events and conduct intentionally caused by the insured; and events occurring while the insured or their staff are under the influence of alcohol, drugs or narcotics.

Article A.4 lists matters excluded "unless otherwise agreed" — that is, recoverable by buy-back:

• Loss of documents, and loss or destruction of information and materials in the insured's custody (A.4.1/a)
• Compensation actions and arbitration before any forum other than the courts of the Republic of Türkiye (A.4.1/b)
• Unfair competition of any kind (A.4.1/c)
• Claims from infringement of intellectual property such as patents, copyright, trade names and marks (A.4.2/a)
• Claims from the insured's liability towards their mother, father, siblings, spouse and children (A.4.2/b)
• Liabilities arising directly or indirectly from environmental pollution (A.4.2/c)
• Claims for non-pecuniary (moral) damages (A.4.2/f)
• Penalties and penalty clauses of every kind, including administrative and judicial fines (A.4.3/a)

How the Claims Process Works

Article B.2 imposes two notification duties: to notify the insurer of events that could give rise to liability within ten days, and to report the materialisation of the risk immediately on becoming aware of it.

Article B.3.4 gives the insurer five days to say whether it will undertake legal assistance. It also holds a trap for the insured: a settlement made without the insurer's approval is ineffective against it if approval is not given within fifteen days of notification. The insurer may not withhold approval without justified grounds.

Payment follows Article B.3.3: the indemnity falls due forty-five days after notification that the risk has materialised. If investigations run beyond three months, the insurer pays at least 50% of the loss figure as an advance. The insurer's liability also ends to the extent the loss is met by social security institutions.

Limitation is in Article C.9: claims under the contract are time-barred two years from the date the debt falls due, and in any event ten years from the date the risk materialised. Under Article B.5 the injured party may claim up to the sum insured directly from the insurer.

The Agency's Role in Structuring the Policy

Three lines cause almost every dispute on a professional indemnity policy: the activity description, the trigger, and the sections bought back. Get those right and the rest rarely creates a problem.

Cover limits, and minimum sums on compulsory lines, are updated yearly in the legislation. The limits set for the relevant year apply when the policy is issued, and current values should be followed from the texts published by SEDDK.

RYL Sigorta Aracılık Hizmetleri Limited Şirketi is an insurance agency. We prepare quotations from the insurers we act for that match your profession and the work you actually do, setting the activity description, the retroactive period and the buy-back sections side by side. The policy is issued by the insurance company, and the indemnity is paid by the insurance company.

To discuss the right structure for your profession, complete the quotation form.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• SEDDK — Insurance General Conditions
• Professional Liability Insurance General Conditions and profession clauses (full text)
• Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Regulation
• KGK — Independent Audit Regulation (current text)
• General Conditions for Compulsory Financial Liability Insurance for Medical Malpractice

This article is for information only; the scope of cover is set by the policy’s specific and general terms.