Denied or underpaid insurance claims in Türkiye

Insurers don't always say no outright. Sometimes the "no" is a payment that's quietly far smaller than your loss, wrapped in a clause you were never pointed to. Either way, a refusal is an opinion — not a verdict — and Turkish insurance law gives you ways to challenge it.

Claims we challenge

We act for foreign policyholders whose claims have been refused or underpaid, including:

• Travel insurance — medical treatment and evacuation abroad, trip costs, accidents during a holiday in Türkiye.
• Health / private medical — refused treatment or hospital cover under a Turkish health policy.
• Life & personal accident — death and disability benefits not paid to beneficiaries.
• Property & home — fire, water, theft and earthquake claims refused or undervalued.

Typical reasons given for refusal — a policy exclusion, an alleged "pre-existing condition", late notification, or a strained reading of the wording — can all be tested.

When a denial can be challenged

Insurance contracts in Türkiye are governed by the Turkish Commercial Code (Law No. 6102) and the Insurance Act (Sigortacılık Kanunu, Law No. 5684). Insurers owe duties of good faith and prompt, fair handling. A refusal can often be challenged where:

• the exclusion relied on doesn't actually apply to your facts;
• a "pre-existing condition" or "non-disclosure" argument is overstated or wasn't properly established;
• the policy wording is ambiguous — ambiguity is generally read against the insurer that drafted it;
• the insurer underpaid, delayed without justification, or failed to investigate properly.

What you can recover

• The sum that should have been paid under the policy — the unpaid balance of your claim.
• Statutory interest for the period you were kept waiting.
• In clear cases, arguments around unjustified delay or bad-faith handling.

Where the dispute is decided

You usually have more than one route, and the right one depends on your policy and status:

• Insurance Arbitration Commission (Sigorta Tahkim Komisyonu) — a specialist, relatively fast route for disputes with member insurers, set up under the Insurance Act.
• Consumer route — where you hold the policy as a consumer, the Consumer Arbitration Committee (Tüketici Hakem Heyeti) or Consumer Court may apply, depending on the amount.
• Commercial court — where the relationship is commercial.

We advise on the forum that fits your case and run it for you.

A travel policy is judged on its own wording.Cover, exclusions and the notice period differ by policy — which is why the document itself is the starting point.

How long you have

Insurance claims are subject to limitation periods set by the policy and the Commercial Code. They differ by the type of cover, so the safest course is to act promptly once a claim is refused or underpaid — and to ask before assuming a deadline has passed.

Doing it from abroad

You handle none of the Turkish-language back-and-forth. You appoint us by a power of attorney (vekâletname) signed in your country, apostilled or consular-legalised, with a sworn translation. We then take the policy, the claim file and the refusal, and deal with the insurer and the forum for you.

Useful to keep: the policy and schedule, your original claim, the insurer's refusal or payment letter, correspondence, and proof of the loss (medical records, invoices, photos, reports).

How we handle your claim

1. Initial review. Send us the policy and the refusal; we review them at no cost.
2. You appoint us. One power of attorney, signed remotely.
3. We challenge it. We test the denial against the policy and Turkish insurance law and pursue it through arbitration or the courts.
4. Outcome. Any recovered sum is accounted to you, with each step explained in English.

Frequently asked questions

Related: traffic accident compensation · personal injury · all questions.