What Is Force Majeure in Turkish Insurance?
Force majeure describes an extraordinary event that makes performance impossible for reasons the debtor cannot be held responsible for. In insurance, however, the deciding question is not the label attached to the event but whether that peril is written into the policy as covered.
Force majeure is the legal name for an extraordinary event that makes performance impossible for reasons the debtor cannot be held responsible for. The term is used constantly in insurance conversations, and usually in the wrong place: calling an event force majeure does not, on its own, decide whether a policy pays. Below we separate what the statute says from what the policy wording says.
When Does an Event Qualify as Force Majeure?
Turkish law has no single article that defines force majeure in one sentence. The concept is regulated through its effect on performance. Article 136 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (Türk Borçlar Kanunu, Law No. 6098) provides that an obligation is extinguished where performance becomes impossible for reasons the debtor cannot be held responsible for. Article 137 covers partial impossibility and Article 138 covers adaptation of the contract to changed circumstances.
The statutory wording itself supplies three tests. Where they are not met together, the event remains a commercial difficulty and does not release the debtor.
- It must not originate with the debtor — Article 138 requires the extraordinary situation to arise "for a reason not attributable to the debtor".
- It must be unforeseeable — the same article describes it as "not foreseen and not expected to be foreseen by the parties".
- The outcome must be unavoidable — Article 136 requires performance to become impossible "for reasons the debtor cannot be held responsible for".
Does Force Majeure Suspend a Policy by Itself?
No. What decides whether an insurance contract responds is not the label on the event but whether that peril is insured under the policy. The same earthquake can be inside cover for a household protected by DASK — Türkiye's compulsory earthquake pool — and outside cover for a motor owner who never bought the earthquake extension.
Article 1409 of the Turkish Commercial Code (Türk Ticaret Kanunu, Law No. 6102) sets the rule in two paragraphs. The first makes the insurer liable for loss arising from the peril provided for in the contract. The second places the burden of proving that a peril falls outside cover on the insurer.
The practical consequence is that "this was force majeure" is not by itself a valid declinature. The party refusing payment must show that the exclusion it relies on is written into the policy and the general conditions.
Which Events Are Excluded From the Start?
General conditions do not treat extraordinary events as one block. Some are excluded outright; others are listed as extensions that can be bought back by additional agreement. The General Conditions for Land Vehicles Comprehensive Insurance — the cover Turkish practice calls kasko, i.e. motor own damage — show the split clearly: clause A.5 lists excluded losses and clause A.4 lists losses that may be brought into cover by additional agreement.
Property works the same way. The General Conditions for Fire Insurance do not treat earthquake and volcanic eruption as automatically included either: clause A.3 lists them among perils that may be added by agreement, subject to the Earthquake and Volcanic Eruption Clause annexed to those conditions.
For dwellings the earthquake side is separately regulated through compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK). Its general conditions calculate the sum insured by multiplying the square-metre value set for the building type by the gross floor area, and apply a deductible of 2% of the sum insured on each loss, with all losses in any 72-hour period counting as one. The square-metre value and the maximum sum insured follow the Tariff and Instructions published for the relevant year. So "I have earthquake cover" cannot be read correctly until you know which of the two policies is meant.
The table below places the usual force majeure candidates in the two kasko lists. An item in the extension column is only covered if it is written into the policy; if it is absent from the schedule, there is no cover.
| Event | Position in the kasko general conditions | Result |
|---|---|---|
| War, civil war, revolution, insurrection | A.5.1 — excluded | Cannot be bought back |
| Nuclear fuel, ionising radiation, radioactive contamination | A.5.2 — excluded | Cannot be bought back |
| Biological and chemical contamination arising from terrorism | A.5.9 — excluded | Cannot be bought back |
| Earthquake, landslide, storm, hail, lightning, volcanic eruption | A.4.4 — extension | Covered if shown in the policy |
| Flood and inundation | A.4.5 — extension | Covered if shown in the policy |
| Terrorism and sabotage arising from it | A.4.3 — extension | Except contamination under A.5.9 |
| Strike, lock-out, riot, civil commotion | A.4.2 — extension | Covered if shown in the policy |
Do Time Limits Keep Running After a Loss?
They do. Under Article 1446 of the Turkish Commercial Code the policyholder must notify the insurer without delay once they learn the insured event has occurred. The second paragraph shows that late notice is not an automatic forfeiture: a reduction applies only where the failure or delay increased the indemnity payable, and then according to the degree of fault.
Article 1447 covers the duty to supply information and documents after a loss, and Article 1448 the duty to prevent and mitigate. Where roads are closed or communications are down, these duties are measured by what is possible in the circumstances — which makes contemporaneous records, photographs and evidence of first contact valuable later.
On limitation, Article 1420 applies: all claims arising from an insurance contract are time-barred two years from the date the receivable falls due, and claims for indemnity or the sum insured six years from the date of the loss in any event.
Article 153 of the Code of Obligations lists the grounds on which limitation is suspended, and that list contains no free-standing "force majeure" item; its sixth item covers periods during which the claim cannot be pursued before the Turkish courts. The safe working assumption is that the clock keeps running.
What if the Contract Itself Becomes Impossible?
Sometimes what disappears is not the cover but the insured interest itself. Article 1422 of the Turkish Commercial Code addresses this: where, before the insurer's liability has begun, occurrence of the insured event becomes impossible without any act or influence of the policyholder, the insured or — in life assurance — the beneficiary, the insurer is not entitled to the premium.
On the obligations side, Article 136 extinguishes the debt and requires anything already received under a reciprocal contract to be returned under unjust enrichment rules. It also imposes a notice duty: a debtor who fails to give prompt notice of impossibility and to take steps to stop the loss growing must make good the resulting damage.
Where performance has become excessively onerous rather than impossible, Article 138 applies. It allows a party to ask the court to adapt the contract and, failing that, to rescind; in contracts involving continuous performance the debtor exercises a right of termination instead. Insurance falls into that second category.
What We Check as an Agency
At RYL Sigorta Aracılık Hizmetleri, the first thing we read when preparing a quotation is the schedule of cover and the exclusions. The gap between a client's real exposure and the A.4 and A.5 lists should be found before a loss, not after one. Because earthquake, flood, terrorism and strike sit in the extension list, we check item by item whether they were actually written into the policy.
As an insurance agency we do not provide the cover and we do not pay claims; indemnity is paid by the insurance company. Our work is to prepare comparative quotations from the insurers we act for, to explain the exclusions in plain language before the policy is signed, and to say in advance which documents a claim will require.
If you are unsure whether your current policy carries earthquake, flood or terrorism cover, send us a copy through our quotation form and we will go through the schedule with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
If an Earthquake Is Force Majeure, Does That Mean Insurers Do Not Pay?
No — these are two different questions. Classifying an earthquake as force majeure does not stop a policy from paying. What decides the outcome is whether earthquake cover is in the policy. The kasko general conditions list earthquake at clause A.4.4 among perils that can be added by additional agreement, while for dwellings compulsory earthquake insurance operates as a separate policy.
Can War Risk Be Bought Back for an Additional Premium?
In the Turkish kasko general conditions, war, civil war, revolution and insurrection are excluded by clause A.5.1 and do not appear in the A.4 extension list. Loss caused by nuclear fuel and radiation sits in the same category under A.5.2. These items cannot be brought into standard motor own damage cover even against an additional premium.
If I Notify a Claim Late, Do I Lose My Right to Indemnity?
Under Article 1446 of the Turkish Commercial Code, delay alone does not forfeit the right. A reduction requires that the failure or delay actually increased the indemnity payable, and it is then set according to the degree of fault. If the insurer had already learned of the loss by other means, it cannot rely on that reduction.
Are Premiums Automatically Deferred During a Disaster or Epidemic?
They are not. The withdrawal and termination mechanics in Article 1434 of the Turkish Commercial Code keep running, and for subsequent instalments the contract is deemed terminated at the end of the ten-day period given by notarial or registered notice. If payment becomes difficult, the step to take is a written request to the insurer for a payment arrangement, and close attention to any notice received.
What if My Policy Has No Clause Headed "Force Majeure"?
Nothing changes. Turkish general conditions do not use that heading at all; they organise extraordinary events into two lists — excluded losses, and losses that may be added by additional agreement. Those two lists are what you read. And under Article 1409 of the Turkish Commercial Code, the burden of proving that a peril falls outside cover rests with the insurer.
Sources
- Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 — Turkish Legislation Information System
- Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, Book Six: Insurance Law — Turkish Legislation Information System
- General Conditions for Land Vehicles Comprehensive (Kasko) Insurance — Turkish Legislation Information System
- General Conditions for Compulsory Earthquake Insurance — Turkish Legislation Information System
- General Conditions for Compulsory Earthquake Insurance — DASK
This article is for information only; the scope of cover is set by the policy’s specific and general terms.
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