Insurer Allianz invests over $1 billion in Turkey

ISTANBUL

Insurer Allianz has invested more than 1 billion euros (around $1.1billion) since 2008, Tolga Gürkan, the chairman of the executive board of Allianz Türkiye, told Anadolu Agency.

“We make long-term plans for Turkey. We believe in the Turkish economy, its people and the local insurance industry’s growth potential,” Gürkan said.

According to Gürkan, Allianz had a market share of 11.7 percent in the non-life insurance segment with a total premium generation of 3.3 billion Turkish Liras ($573 million) in the first half of 2019.

“We have some 2,500 employees and operate through a network of 3,800 agencies and 1,800 bank branches across Turkey,” he said.

He noted that the Allianz Campus, launched in the western İzmir province, has made a contribution to the company’s operations over the past one year.

“We are planning to open the Allianz Teknik on the premises of the Turkish-German University in Istanbul’s Beykoz district in October. We will continue carrying out investments focused on productivity and digitalization to serve our customers better,” Gürkan said.

Gürkan noted that Allianz became a partner in the insurance company Şark Sigorta, which was a Koç Group company, back in 1988.

The name of the company was changed to Koç Allianz in 1998.

In 2008, Allianz acquired Koç Holding’s stakes.

In 2013, Allianz bought the insurance company Yapı Kredi Sigorta and pension firm Yapı Kredi Emeklilik.