Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Details of the agreement between TOBB and Swiss RE and NN Life and Pensions Insurance were introduced during the press conference attended by TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, NN Life and Pensions General Manager Daniel Marius Popescu, TOBB Insurance Agencies Chief Executive Officer Levent Korkut and Swiss RE Hayat and Health Insurance Branch Turkey Director Marc Hartenbach.

- Great opportunity in health

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said here that, as the Union, they have taken action to insure that owners, families and employees of their member companies can lead a healthier life. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they have started a new cooperation with 2 leading companies in the world: Swiss Re and NN Life-Pensions, with a history of more than 150 years in the insurance sector, “In this context, 1.5 million members, their families and about 13 million employees in 81 provinces and 160 districts, will have the opportunity to access complementary insurance under favorable conditions. It will lower hospital costs, secure their budgets. They will also be able to access health care in a comfortable and high quality manner. There's another first happening here. Thanks to the positive approach of our 2 companies and our Insurance Agents Executive Committee, this insurance product will be sold for the first time not only by its own agencies, but also by all insurance agencies. Thus, we will be able to reach all our Chamber-Commodity Exchange members throughout the country.”

- Complementary health insurance is becoming more common

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu mentioned that health is the most important treasure for everyone, said, “Health doesn’t seem very important when you have it, but Allah forbid, its absence is the greatest problem. In our culture, how great a blessing it is to be healthy, was expressed explicitly by the great sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent. ‘People think of wealth and power as the greatest fate, but in this world a spell of health is the best state.’ Our Great Prophet said, ‘No one has been given a better favor than good health, except for faith.’ Therefore, being healthy, maintaining health is one of our most important humanitarian tasks. Unfortunately, today, this business is becoming increasingly difficult and more expensive. Health expenditures in our country increased by 18% in 2018 compared to the previous year to 165bn TRY. There are no exact figures yet, but it is estimated to reach 200bn TRY in 2019. Thanks to the application of our state's General Health Insurance, the public has welcomed the important part of these expenditures. Nevertheless, the health expenditures made by households for the purpose of treatment, medicine, etc. increased by 19% to 29bn TRY in 2018.

Achieving quality health care is becoming more expensive not only in our country, but all over the world. That's what the insurance industry has developed a solution to. With complementary health insurance, we are provided the benefit of health facilities of private hospitals. It can also underwrite health care costs that the public health insurance does not cover. Thus, it is possible to reach both more hospitals and better quality services. In Europe in particular, complementary health insurance is increasingly being used for services not covered or partially covered by public health insurance.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that interest in complementary health insurance is increasing in Turkey, “The number of people who utilize complementary insurance has exceeded 1 million. But there's a long way to go in this area.As TOBB, we are now taking the initiative on this issue. To date, we have played a leading role in the access of financing of the real sector, especially SMEs, finding qualified employees, opening up to global trade, reducing input costs on it. We worked to make our companies a healthier state.”