INTEGRATION PROSPECT OF THE TURKISH INSURANCE MARKET WITH THE EUROPEAN SINGLE INSURANCE MARKET: A SURVEY AMONG TURKISH MARKET PLAYERS

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to analyze the extent of the harmonization of the Turkish insurance market with the European single insurance market and the integration prospect between the two markets. The results revealed that even though consumers and re/insurers situated in any one of the Member States are completely free to operate throughout the European Economic Area (EEA) under the same conditions with local companies and consumers, insurers do not make use of freedom of services (FOS) and freedom of establishment (FOE) and thus insurance markets of the EEA Member States are still far from being integrated markets. Mergers and acquisitions are still the dominant strategy to access a foreign insurance market in the EEA. As far as the Turkish insurance market is concerned, it is argued that Turkey, an acceding country to the EU, harmonized its insurance legislation with the EU insurance acquis to a great extent. Perceptions and expectations of the Turkish insurance market on the current level of harmonization and the integration prospect with the European single insurance market are investigated by a survey. The sector believes that Turkish insurance legislation is already harmonized with the EU insurance acquis and that the EU membership of Turkey would be beneficial for the Turkish insurance market but as of today it would not result in the integration of the market with the insurance markets of the EEA Member States. Keywords: Insurance, Integration, Turkish Insurance Market, European Single Insurance Market