New traffic insurance premiums will burn pockets
As of June 2026, mandatory traffic insurance premiums have risen again. The new tariffs, which vary according to risk level and city, have revealed striking figures, especially for high-risk drivers, taxi drivers, and bus operators.
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Mandatory traffic insurance premiums, which vehicle owners across Turkey are required to pay, have been updated for the June 2026 period. With the newly announced tariff, there have been noticeable increases in premium amounts across different risk levels and cities.
The new maximum premiums, which concern the owners of approximately 34 million vehicles in traffic, have changed significantly in major cities, primarily Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. For car owners in Istanbul, the cost of insurance at the fourth risk level has risen to 18,421 Turkish Lira. Drivers who take to the road without mandatory traffic insurance will face the risk of fines and having their vehicles banned from traffic.
PREMIUM DIFFERENCE GROWS ACCORDING TO RISK LEVEL
While traffic insurance premiums increased by 1.2 percent as of the June period, the amounts drivers will pay show serious differences depending on their risk status. While high-risk drivers in the zero-risk level in Istanbul have to set aside 55,262 Turkish Lira, vehicle owners in the eighth level, the lowest risk category, pay 9,210 Turkish Lira. Similarly, in Ankara, the premium for drivers at the zero level is 53,698 Turkish Lira, while it is 8,950 Turkish Lira for those at the eighth level. In Izmir, these figures were updated to 52,134 Turkish Lira and 8,689 Turkish Lira, respectively.
FIGURES FOR COMMERCIAL TAXIS REACH SIX DIGITS
New insurance costs have also been announced for taxi drivers. While the premium for commercial taxis at the zero level in Istanbul has risen to 154,416 Turkish Lira, those at the eighth level will pay 25,736 Turkish Lira. In Ankara, commercial taxi premiums start at 150,046 Turkish Lira and go down to 25,008 Turkish Lira. In Izmir, the premium range was set between 145,676 Turkish Lira and 24,279 Turkish Lira.
PREMIUMS FOR BUSES EXCEED 379 THOUSAND LIRA
There have also been serious premium increases for buses. Especially for buses with high passenger capacity, the premium for a bus at the zero level in Istanbul has risen to 379,365 Turkish Lira. The new premium for low-risk buses at the eighth level was announced as 63,227 Turkish Lira.
PENALTIES FOR UNINSURED VEHICLES WILL CONTINUE TO BE APPLIED
As of 2026, the practice of a 1,246 Turkish Lira administrative fine and banning the vehicle from traffic for vehicles without mandatory traffic insurance continues. Although drivers caught without insurance during police checks are sometimes given additional time to rectify the lack of a policy, vehicle owners who are involved in an accident and do not have a policy face a fine of 2,039 Turkish Lira, and damages caused to third parties are the responsibility of the vehicle owner.
DELAY RESULTS IN ADDITIONAL COSTS
Drivers who do not take out or renew their traffic insurance on time must pay a 5 percent late payment surcharge in addition to the policy premium for every 30 days they are late. This rate can reach a maximum of 50 percent in total. Thus, the financial burden on those who delay their insurance policy increases significantly.
With this regulation, while the strict monitoring of traffic insurance practices in Turkey continues, vehicle owners will need to review their budgets once again with the new premiums.