Turkic World Insurance Union Discusses Regional Reinsurance Pool in Gaziantep

The 2nd Assembly of the Turkic World Insurance Union opened in Gaziantep, Turkey, with high-level delegates exploring the formation of a unified regional reinsurance pool. The gathering brought together insurance regulators, industry association heads, and market leaders from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Northern Cyprus, under the auspices of the Insurance Association of Turkey.

The opening ceremony featured keynote remarks by Ahmed Yaşar, Chairman of the Insurance Association of Turkey; Ulviyya Jabbarova, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Azerbaijan Insurers Association (ASA) and outgoing head of the union; Davut Menteş, President of Turkey's Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency (SEDDK); and Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep. Delegates unanimously elected Atilla Benli, former head of the Insurance Association of Turkey, as the new Chairman of the Union, while Mammad Aghayev, advisor to the Executive Director of ASA, was elected Secretary General. The 3rd Assembly was scheduled to take place in Uzbekistan in 2027.

Discussions centered on pooling cross-border reinsurance capacity to underwrite systemic natural catastrophe exposures. Gaziantep was chosen purposefully: the devastating 2023 earthquake highlighted severe protection gaps across the wider region and exposed vulnerability to tightening terms from global reinsurance syndicates. A joint pool is intended to enhance retention within the Turkic bloc and broaden primary catastrophe coverage.

From an actuarial and risk modeling perspective, structuring a multi-jurisdictional reinsurance vehicle requires sophisticated modeling of spatial correlation and aggregate catastrophe tail risk. While geographical dispersion between Turkey, the Caucasus, and Central Asian markets mitigates localized loss spikes, setting fair quota shares and pricing excess-of-loss treaties demands harmonized loss data standards and compatible solvency capital frameworks.

Actuarial takeaway: Establishing a joint reinsurance pool provides member markets with enhanced retention capacity and reduced reliance on global reinsurance pricing cycles, provided that members reconcile catastrophe risk models, capital adequacy metrics, and cross-border settlement protocols.

Source: Report.az, October 11, 2026. Also reported by: Publika.az.