2026 Amendment to the General Terms of Compulsory Traffic Insurance: Depreciation and New Rules

What Changed in the General Terms of Compulsory Traffic Insurance?

The Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Authority (SEDDK) has re-regulated in many respects the General Terms of Compulsory Traffic Insurance published in the Official Gazette dated 14/5/2015 and numbered 29355. The amendment covers a broad area, from the definition of the types of coverage to the rules on parts to be used in damage repairs. The regulation enters into force on 1 July 2026 and carries importance for policies to be issued and accidents to occur after this date. For vehicle owners and traffic accident victims in Antalya, the practical consequences of these changes will be directly felt.

A large number of traffic accident compensation proceedings are conducted each year in the Antalya region, and the new General Terms directly affect how these proceedings operate. Persons who own a vehicle or are traffic accident victims in Antalya are advised to follow these changes closely in order to avoid loss of rights.

Depreciation Coverage Is Now Deemed an Automatic Claim

The most significant innovation of the new regulation is the depreciation coverage. Depreciation is defined as the difference between a vehicle's second-hand sale value before the accident and its second-hand sale value after repair. Under the General Terms, a rightholder who applies for vehicle damage is now deemed to have also filed a claim for depreciation, without any need to submit a separate claim. In Antalya, this innovation is capable of significantly reducing loss of rights following an accident.

This regulation eliminates the problem of many victims being unable to assert a depreciation claim in practice due to lack of information. In traffic accidents occurring in the Antalya region, vehicle owners often claimed only the repair cost, overlooking the depreciation. Under the new rule, an application for property damage inherently also includes the depreciation application.

How Is Depreciation Calculated?

The depreciation amount is determined by an insurance loss adjuster (expert) to be appointed in accordance with the procedures and principles to be established by the Authority. In its calculation, the adjuster takes into account the following criteria: the make, age, model and level of prior use of the vehicle, the parts that were damaged, the past damage history, and the difference between the second-hand sale value before the accident and after the repair. Where an adjuster is appointed for the vehicle damage, the same adjuster is obliged to also include in the report a determination as to the depreciation amount. In compensation files conducted in Antalya, this report is used as the fundamental basis for determining the amount to be claimed.

The Insurer's Obligation to Notify Within One Business Day

An important safeguard added to the General Terms is the insurer's obligation to notify the rightholder of the calculated depreciation amount at the latest within the business day following the date on which the final adjuster's report reaches the insurer. This notification may be made in writing or by means of a durable data storage medium. This short time limit is a provision in favour of accident victims in Antalya as it accelerates the compensation process.

The Types of Coverage Have Been Re-Regulated

Article A.5 of the General Terms has been entirely rewritten, and the types of coverage have been arranged under four main headings. In compensation files conducted in Antalya, correctly establishing this distinction is critical for fully identifying the items to be claimed.

Property Damage Coverage

Property damage coverage covers the reduction in the rightholder's directly owned assets, including the depreciation occurring in the damaged vehicle. The explicit inclusion of depreciation in this coverage eliminates the hesitations of the earlier period. Thus, in property-damage accidents in Antalya, vehicle owners can claim both the repair cost and the depreciation with a single application.

Medical Expenses Coverage

Medical expenses coverage includes all treatment expenses, including the cost of prosthetic organs, aimed at restoring the third party to their former condition following a traffic accident. The medical expenses within the scope of Article 98 of Law No. 2918 fall under the responsibility of the Social Security Institution for those deemed to be covered by general health insurance, and neither the insurance company nor the Assurance Account (Güvence Hesabı) bears responsibility for these expenses. In contrast, medically necessary caregiver expenses during the treatment process and following permanent disability are met by this coverage. For accident victims receiving treatment in Antalya, correctly establishing this distinction is important in terms of applying to the correct institution. The Board Report (Kurul Raporu) is taken as the basis for determining the need for a caregiver. In accidents involving serious injury in Antalya, caregiver expenses constitute a significant item of compensation during the victim's treatment process.

Disability Coverage

Disability coverage meets, in accordance with the tort provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, the pecuniary damages that the third party will suffer economically in the future due to their permanent disability. Temporary incapacity to work and permanent disability arising from a traffic accident fall within the scope of this coverage. As an important safeguard, where the official documents relating to the accident contain a determination of the causal link, the burden of proving the contrary rests with the insurance company. This rule strengthens the position of the victim in permanent disability compensation actions brought in Antalya.

Loss of Support (Death) Coverage

Loss of support coverage is the coverage that meets, again in accordance with the tort provisions of Law No. 6098, the support damages of those deprived of the support of the deceased due to the death of the third party. In determining the amount of compensation, the deceased person is taken as the basis. In fatal traffic accidents in the Antalya region, the relatives deprived of the deceased's support have the right to apply to this coverage.

Part-Replacement Rules in the Repair of Damaged Vehicles

The rules concerning part replacement have been re-regulated in Article B.2 of the General Terms. Accordingly, if the repair of the damaged original part is not possible, it is replaced, as a rule, with an original part. However, if the rightholder's consent is obtained or if replacement with an original part is not possible, the part may be reused or replaced with an equivalent part. For vehicles being repaired in Antalya, which part is fitted is an important matter affecting the amount of compensation.

At this point, a rule critical in the rightholder's favour has been introduced: the burden of proving that the rightholder's consent was obtained or that replacement with an original part was not possible rests with the insurer. Moreover, even if an increase in value occurs in the vehicle as a result of this practice, this difference cannot be deducted from the amount of compensation. Where the damaged part is not original, the opposite order is followed; a reusable or equivalent part is preferred first. It is important for accident victims having their vehicles repaired in the Antalya region to act with awareness of this burden of proof.

The "Withdrawn from Traffic" Requirement for Severely Damaged Vehicles

Under the new regulation, if it has been determined by an adjuster's report that the damaged vehicle has suffered severe damage within the framework of the procedures and principles established by the Authority, no compensation is paid unless the registration certificate bearing the "withdrawn from traffic" stamp is submitted to the insurer. This rule aims to prevent severely damaged vehicles from being put back into traffic. In Antalya, the owner of a severely damaged vehicle must first complete this registration procedure in order to receive their compensation.

Softening of the Exception for Leaving the Accident Scene

An important humanitarian change has been made to Article B.4 of the General Terms, which regulates the situations excluded from coverage. As a rule, the insured's leaving the scene of the incident or acting contrary to the obligation to prepare documents such as the accident report and the alcohol report is excluded from coverage. However, with the new regulation, compulsory situations — such as moving away for reasons of personal safety, and going to a health institution for treatment or assistance in accidents causing bodily injury — have been removed from this scope. Thus, a person who leaves the accident scene in order to help someone under mortal danger or an injured person does not lose their right to coverage. In accidents involving injury occurring in Antalya, this exception provides important protection from both a conscientious and a legal standpoint.

Durable Data Storage Medium and Equivalent-Part Documentation

A new definition added to the General Terms is the concept of a "durable data storage medium." A durable data storage medium refers to any medium that enables the information sent by, or sent to, the parties to be stored without alteration and to be accessed in the same form. Within this scope, structures such as short message, electronic mail, the internet, mobile applications, disks, memory cards, and structures to be established via the Insurance Information and Monitoring Center or e-Government (e-Devlet) are enumerated. Thus, the insurer's notifications may be validly made by digital means. In Antalya, policyholders will thereby also be able to follow notifications in the electronic environment.

In addition, the authority to determine the principles for documenting equivalent parts has been removed from the circular of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance under the previous regulation and left to the Ministry of Industry and Technology pursuant to Article 11 of Law No. 5684. Annexes 1, 2, 3 and 7 of the General Terms have been repealed, while Annex 6 has been re-regulated. For parties following insurance disputes in Antalya, these annex changes must also be taken into account.

Amendment to the General Terms of the Compulsory Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance for Highway Motor Vehicles — Official Gazette, 12 June 2026, No. 33278

"A rightholder who applies for vehicle damage within the scope of this coverage is deemed to have also filed a depreciation claim. The insurer notifies the rightholder of the calculated depreciation amount at the latest within the business day following the date on which the final adjuster's report reaches the insurer."