What Is Compulsory Hazardous Substances Liability Insurance?

What Does the Policy Insure?

Article A.1 defines the subject matter by reference to the substances listed in Article 2 of Decision No. 2010/190 and the connected activities. Article A.2 sets out the cover: liability for bodily injury and property damage suffered directly by third parties in an accident arising from that activity is covered up to the sums in the policy, whether or not the insured was at fault.

That single sentence separates this policy from ordinary liability wordings. In a conventional claim the argument turns on fault; here that debate does not stand between the injured party and the indemnity, returning only at the recourse stage.

The insurance covers all of the insured's professional activities within the Decision, and protects against unfounded claims: if an action is brought, conduct of the defence belongs to the insurer as well, up to the policy limits, and it bears costs and lawyers' fees. Reasonable expenditure to prevent or reduce loss is met too.

Who Must Hold It?

The obligation comes from two directions. On the environmental side, Article 16 of the Waste Management Regulation requires those engaged — irrespective of quantity — in hazardous waste operations to insure against loss they might cause to third parties in an accident. The same article states the sanction: businesses failing to comply get no permit or licence for those activities.

The article also contains a rule against duplication. Where those already carrying on the listed activities hold a policy drawn under the Tariff and Instructions for hazardous substances that also extends to hazardous waste, no separate policy is needed. In practice premiums are sometimes paid twice, so the scope wording is worth reading first.

On the energy side the duty follows the licence: Article 7 of the Communiqué on Insurance Obligations in the Petroleum Market provides that minimum limits for refining, storage, distribution, processing, transmission and transport cannot fall below the amounts in that same tariff.

• Collection, carriage and interim storage of hazardous waste
• Recovery and reuse of hazardous waste
• Disposal of hazardous waste
• Temporary storage of hazardous waste arising from processes
• Professional activity involving hazardous substances within Decision No. 2010/190
• Licensed petroleum market activity, minimum limits tied to the same tariff

How the Cover Is Built and Why Limits Are Year-Bound

Cover operates under two heads: bodily injury and property damage suffered directly by third parties. Minimum limits are set not in the policy but in the Tariff and Instructions, by activity type, and the annexed table shows which minimum applies where.

Those amounts are year-bound: the Tariff and Instructions were last amended in the Official Gazette of 27 December 2024, effective 1 January 2025, the previous update being 22 December 2022. That is why no figure appears here — the limits for the relevant year govern, and the current table sits on SEDDK's tariffs page.

Cover applies within the borders of Türkiye. Unless otherwise agreed, the policy incepts and expires at noon Turkish time; at renewal, even a few hours' gap on the same day creates an uninsured interval.

How Response Order Works with the LPG Cylinder Policy

Article A.2 expressly regulates which of two separate policies responds first when both meet the same event. This generates most argument in practice, and cannot be settled without reading the wording.

The rule looks to the source of the accident: if it originates in an LPG cylinder kept for use, the LPG Cylinder Liability Insurance (Tüpgaz Sorumluluk Sigortası) responds first; if the source is flammable or explosive material, the Hazardous Substances and Hazardous Waste policy leads. Holding both does not mean both pay at once.

Exclusions

Article A.4 groups the exclusions into six limbs. Two weigh heavily on businesses: claims for non-pecuniary damages, and loss suffered by people working for the insured under a contract of agency or service or otherwise.

The second excludes one of the most likely loss scenarios in this work, since an accident usually reaches an employee first; that exposure calls for employer's liability insurance. Non-pecuniary damages are the other gap — claimed in almost every injury case, so the amount expected here should be calculated without that head.

• Claims for loss by persons who caused the event intentionally
• Claims for non-pecuniary damages
• Loss suffered by the insured itself
• Loss suffered by persons working for the insured under a contract of agency or service or otherwise
• Claims from war or warlike operations, revolution, rebellion, insurrection and civil disturbance
• Loss from ionising radiation or radioactive contamination from nuclear fuel or waste
• Loss from acts of terrorism under Law No. 3713, sabotage flowing from them and official intervention

The Insurer Pays, Then May Turn to You: Grounds for Recourse

In compulsory insurance, paying the injured party and releasing the insured are not the same thing. Under Article B.3, grounds removing or reducing the obligation to indemnify cannot be raised against the injured party; the insurer that has paid may seek recourse to that extent.

Two grounds concern transport. If, while hazardous substances or waste are carried, the vehicle is driven by someone without the required licence, or the driver has lost the ability to drive safely through narcotics or alcohol, the indemnity comes back to the business. Licence checks are an insurance matter, not a human-resources one.

When the risk materialises, Article B.1 applies: notify within five days, take salvage measures as though uninsured, supply requested information without delay, forward all documents on proceedings at once, grant a power of attorney and disclose any other insurance. If failure to do so increases the loss, the insurer may seek recourse for it.

On limitation, two texts must be read together. Article C.8 time-bars all rights under the contract in two years; Article 1482 of the Turkish Commercial Code sets ten years from the event for claims addressed to the insurer, and Article 1486(2) renders contrary terms void. Under Article B.5 the injured party may claim directly from the insurer within the limits determined.

• The event was caused by an intentional act of the insured or of persons for whose acts it is responsible
• Where the substances were stolen or seized, the insured or those it answers for were at fault
• During carriage, the vehicle was driven without the driving licence required by law
• During carriage, the driver could not drive safely through narcotics, stimulants or alcohol
• The loss increased because the duties owed when the risk materialised went unperformed

Aligning the Policy with the Licence Calendar

The most overlooked provision is the last paragraph of Article C.5: if the contract is terminated, the insurer notifies the authority that granted the permit or licence, and the Insurance Information Centre, with the reason. Lapse of the policy is not a quiet event. Since no licence is granted to those who fail to comply, running the policy and licence calendars separately is a genuine operational risk.

Inception depends on payment: under Article C.1, where the whole premium or first instalment is unpaid, the insurer's liability does not begin, and this is written on the face of the policy. Article C.3 requires notice within eight days where the risk worsens — more storage capacity, a new waste code or a move into carriage.

RYL Sigorta Aracılık Hizmetleri is an insurance agency: we do not issue the policy, and any indemnity is paid by the insurance company that is party to the contract. Our work is to compare the activity description in your permits with the policy's scope and prepare quotations from the insurers we act for. Tell us your activity codes and licence renewal date.

• Does the activity description in the permits match the one in the policy
• Is hazardous waste activity inside the existing policy, or is a second premium paid
• Are the minimum limits updated against the tariff in force for the year
• Does an uninsured interval remain between policy and licence renewal dates
• Where carriage is involved, are driving licences tracked against recourse grounds

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• General Conditions of Compulsory Hazardous Substances and Hazardous Waste Liability Insurance (full text)
• SEDDK — Tariffs and instructions, current minimum limits
• Waste Management Regulation
• SEDDK — Communiqué on Insurance Obligations in the Petroleum Market
• Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, Book Six — Insurance Law

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