Sigorta Portalı: brokerage and digitalization

Summary

I joined the Sigorta Portalı programme as a board member of the Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Association; with Naz Özdeğirmenci we talked about digital transformation in insurance. I started with the simple definition: integrating technology into business processes for efficiency, cost optimisation and a better customer experience. But I stressed that this is a transformation of business models and culture, not of technology alone. For insurance it means traditional approaches evolving into a more transparent, faster and more user-friendly experience. I said we are heading toward a personalised product range shaped by lifestyle, driven by AI.

I explained that the most fundamental change AI will bring is a change of approach: from a reactive model that repairs after the loss to a proactive model that predicts the risk and prevents it. I gave the recent hotel fire as an example of a preventable risk; once every actor, customers included, absorbs this approach, such disasters can be avoided. I added that Turkey is an insurance market ranked around 26th to 29th in the world, that no company is fully ready for AI's exponential pace, but that I see our companies taking eager and intelligent steps.

To the question of cooperation or competition my answer was firmly cooperation, because no company is strong enough to compete in every area. I opened up AI's three core areas: risk analysis and pricing, which makes fair pricing possible through an accurate risk profile; claims management, which brings fraud detection, shorter processes and lower cost (a consultancy study projects claims costs falling by up to 30 per cent within five years); and customer service. I said I don't foresee customer service without people: research shows people want to confirm even what they know about insurance with someone who knows. Insurance is a complex product, advice and trust are indispensable, and that job falls to brokers.

I shared that brokers are the front face reaching the customer most directly, and that in Turkey 85 to 90 per cent of online quote, comparison and purchase transactions run through broker firms. The Digital Insurance and Distance Sales Committee our association set up years ago works both on the sector's digitalisation and on shaping regulation accordingly. My message to SME-scale brokers was clear: falling behind is about vision, not size; when the next generation of a family firm asks how to carry the business into the future, it founds a technology company. If you can carry your work into a specialist field, you have a place in digital too. I pointed to embedded insurance as one of the most effective ways to reach young people, and for 2025 to personalised products, investment in digital and regulation that supports it; the two areas to focus on for competitive advantage are claims management and the embedded channel.

In this talk

• Digital transformation is a transformation of business models and culture, not only of technology
• From reactive claims repair to proactive risk prevention; the recent hotel fire as a preventable-risk example
• AI's three areas: risk analysis and pricing, claims management, customer service
• Claims costs projected to fall by up to 30 per cent in five years; fraud detection and shorter processes
• Cooperation is more realistic than competition; no company is strong alone in every area
• Customer service without people damages trust; people want to confirm even what they know with someone who knows
• Brokers are the front face closest to the customer; 85 to 90 per cent of online transactions in Turkey run through broker firms
• The association's Digital Insurance and Distance Sales Committee works for the sector and for regulation
• For SME brokers, falling behind is about vision, not size; carry your work into a specialist field and you exist in digital too
• Automation reduces repetitive work and raises the value of the expert who adds value
• Embedded insurance is one of the most effective ways to reach young people; in 2025 personalised products, investment in digital and aligned regulation

Predicting risk in advance and acting to prevent it will fundamentally change how every actor in the sector works.