How to File a Claim With the Insurance Arbitration Commission

What the Insurance Arbitration Commission Is

Article 30 of Law No. 5684 provides for an Insurance Arbitration Commission, established within the Association, to resolve disputes between policyholders or persons deriving a benefit from an insurance contract and the party carrying the risk. The same paragraph extends the forum to disputes between the Guarantee Account and persons entitled to claim from it.

Membership drives access. Insurance undertakings wishing to join the arbitration system notify the Commission in writing. A person in dispute with a member undertaking may use arbitration even where the contract contains no arbitration clause — no separate agreement to arbitrate is required.

For compulsory lines the rule is wider still. A sentence added by Law No. 6456 in 2013 allows beneficiaries to use the arbitration route in disputes arising from insurance made compulsory by legislation even where the undertaking concerned is not a member of the system. The Commission publishes that, for compulsory lines, it accepts disputes arising after 18 April 2013 irrespective of whether the undertaking is a member.

The Precondition: Write to the Insurer First

Paragraph 13 of Article 30 sets a single gate. To go to the Commission, the claimant must have made the necessary application to the insurance undertaking about the event in dispute and must be able to document that the request was rejected wholly or in part.

The same paragraph opens a second door: failure by the undertaking to reply in writing within fifteen business days of the application is itself sufficient to move to the Commission. Silence does not lock the claimant out; it releases the route.

Compulsory motor third party liability runs on a slightly different clock. Clause C.7 of the Compulsory Motor Third Party Liability Insurance General Conditions requires the injured party, before litigating, to apply to the insurer in writing with the full set of documents listed in the annex to those General Conditions. If the insurer does not reply in writing within fifteen days, or the reply does not meet the claim, the dispute may go either to the competent court or to the Insurance Arbitration Commission.

• Send the claim to the insurer in writing and keep proof that the file was delivered.
• Retain the negative reply — or the record of the deadline passing without one; this is the basis of the application.
• For compulsory motor claims, attach the complete document set listed in the annex to the General Conditions.
• Include the receipt for the application fee; the fee scale is published by the Commission.

Disputes the Commission Will Not Take

Paragraph 14 of Article 30 closes one door firmly: no application may be made to the Commission in respect of disputes that have already gone to court or to a consumer arbitration committee under the Consumer Protection Law. The choice of forum therefore has to be made at the outset.

A second limit is temporal. The Commission requires the event in dispute to have occurred after the undertaking joined the system; for compulsory lines the 2013 provision described above applies instead.

A third point is often missed: arbitration exists for disputes arising from an insurance contract. A non-contractual claim, a service outside insurance business, or a disagreement with someone who is not a party to the policy falls outside this route.

From Application to Award: Steps and Deadlines

An application first goes to a reporter, who has a statutory maximum of fifteen days. Files that the reporter cannot resolve pass to an insurance arbitrator, selected by the Commission from the arbitrators' list.

Depending on the nature of the case the Commission may constitute a panel of at least three arbitrators; above the monetary threshold set in the Law — and updated annually — a panel is mandatory. Panels decide by majority. Arbitrators decide solely on the documents put before them, so the process runs on the file rather than in a hearing room as a matter of course.

There is a separate mechanism for impartiality. A party may challenge an arbitrator on the grounds that apply to the recusal of a judge; the challenge is filed with the Commission by petition within five business days of learning of the ground, and the Commission director rules within five business days of hearing both sides.

For the award itself the Law fixes a hard ceiling: arbitrators must decide within four months of appointment, failing which the dispute is resolved by the competent court. That period can be extended only by the express written consent of both parties. The award is delivered to the Commission director and notified to the parties within three business days at the latest.

Objection, Cassation and Thresholds That Move Every Year

Paragraph 12 of Article 30 builds three tiers. Below the stated amount, an arbitrator's award is final. At or above it, a party may object once, before the Commission, within ten days of the award being notified; the objection fee must be paid, and a valid objection suspends enforcement of the award. Objections are heard by panels constituted solely for that purpose and must be decided within two months of referral.

The third tier is cassation. Above the amount stated in the Law, decisions given on objection may be taken to the Court of Cassation. Beyond that, four grounds open the route regardless of value: an award given after the arbitration period expired, an award on something that was not requested, an award on matters outside the arbitrators' powers, and a failure to decide on the parties' claims.

This article deliberately omits the figures, because they do not keep. Paragraph 22 authorises the monetary amounts in the article to be increased by no more than the rise in the producer price index, and the thresholds are re-set each year by a communiqué published in the Official Gazette. Confirm the current figures from the Commission's own announcements before applying.

What It Costs if the Claim Fails

Article 30 provides that undertakings joining the system pay a participation contribution and applicants pay an application fee. Arbitrator fees, application fees and participation contributions are set by the regulator after consulting the Commission, and the arbitrator's fee is paid by the Commission.

On legal costs the Law grants a specific reduction. Where a claim is rejected wholly or in part, the attorney's fee awarded against the claimant is one fifth of the fee set in the Minimum Attorney Fee Tariff. That provision is one reason arbitration carries less downside risk than litigation.

The Law imposes no requirement to be represented by an attorney; a claimant may apply personally. Given that arbitrators decide on the documents alone, submitting a complete and well-ordered file has a direct effect on the outcome.

Where the Agency Fits In

Law No. 5684 defines an insurance agency as the party that carries out the preparatory work before the contract is concluded and assists in the performance of the contract and in the payment of the indemnity. When a dispute arises, the agency's role is to help assemble the policy and claim documents correctly, keep the deadlines in view and ensure the demand reaches the insurer in proper form.

The Law also draws a boundary: insurance agencies may not act as insurance arbitrators, and the same prohibition extends to their spouses and children. The decision-maker is an independent arbitrator, not the agency.

RYL Sigorta Aracılık Hizmetleri Limited Şirketi operates as an insurance agency. We prepare quotations from the insurance companies we act for and guide clients through the documentation and application steps of a claim. Indemnity is paid by the insurance company, and the dispute itself is decided by an arbitrator or panel within the Insurance Arbitration Commission. If you have a question about your policy, reach us through the quotation form.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Insurance Law No. 5684 — Legislation Information System
• Regulation on Arbitration in Insurance — Legislation Information System
• Insurance Arbitration Commission — Frequently Asked Questions
• Insurance Arbitration Commission — How to Object
• Compulsory Motor Third Party Liability Insurance General Conditions — Legislation Information System

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