Guides Turkish → English
UK car insurance with Turkish no-claims history
Years of claim-free driving in Türkiye can cut a UK premium, but only if an insurer is willing to count them and can read the proof. This guide explains which Turkish document shows your record, which UK insurers tend to accept foreign no-claims, and how to present the translation.
Who this is for
You drove in Türkiye for years without a claim and have just been quoted a UK premium that assumes you are a brand-new driver. Some UK insurers will recognise a claim-free record earned abroad, usually on the same terms as a UK no-claims discount, provided you can prove it with a document from your previous insurer that they can read and that is recent enough. Others will not, whatever you show them. This guide is about getting the proof right so that the insurers who do accept it have no excuse.
Two systems, two documents
Turkish motor insurance separates compulsory third-party cover (zorunlu trafik sigortası) from comprehensive cover (kasko), and each records claim-free years differently. Compulsory cover uses a step system (basamak): a new driver starts at a middle step and moves up a step for each claim-free year, with the step number printed on the policy. Kasko uses a percentage no-claims discount (hasarsızlık indirimi) that rises with each claim-free year. Both are recorded centrally by the Sigorta Bilgi ve Gözetim Merkezi (SBM), the insurance information centre, which insurers query when they price a policy. For a UK insurer, the useful documents are:
- a hasarsızlık belgesi (no-claims letter) from your last Turkish insurer, on headed paper, stating your name, the vehicle, the policy periods and the number of claim-free years, and confirming that no claims were made;
- the last policy schedule showing the basamak or discount level; and
- where the insurer will not write a letter, an SBM record obtained through e-Devlet showing the policy history and claims.
The no-claims letter page describes the format we translate most often.
What UK insurers look for
There is no regulation that obliges a UK insurer to recognise foreign no-claims, and no standard wording. From what insurers have accepted from our clients to date, the common conditions are that the proof is issued by the insurer (not by a broker), names you as the policyholder, shows continuous cover, states the number of claim-free years, is dated within a limited period after the Turkish policy ended (two years is the figure most often given), and is in English or accompanied by a translation they can rely on. Several mainstream insurers accept foreign proof; several do not; brokers who specialise in expatriate or foreign-licence drivers know which is which. Ask before you buy, not at renewal.
The translation
A no-claims letter is one or two pages and we translate it for £10–20, certified with the accuracy statement, date, signatory and company details that GOV.UK describes for a certified translation. Where the Turkish document gives a basamak number rather than a count of years, we add a translator’s note explaining the step system so that the UK underwriter understands that basamak 7, for instance, reflects several claim-free years. We do not convert the record into a UK no-claims figure; that is the insurer’s decision. A translation of your Turkish driving licence often goes in the same envelope, because the same insurer wants to see the licence categories and the date of first issue.
Timing
Request the hasarsızlık letter before your Turkish policy lapses or as soon as you arrive; Turkish insurers issue it on request, usually within days, and some do so through their app. Do not wait until you have found a UK quote. If your Turkish cover ended more than two years ago, most UK insurers will not count it, and there is little point paying for a translation. The whole process, from requesting the letter to sending the translated PDF to a UK insurer, fits inside a week.
Costs
- Hasarsızlık letter: normally free from the Turkish insurer.
- Translation: £10–20, certified PDF in one to two working days; no UK VAT.
- Driving licence translation, if asked: £10.
- Printed set by courier, rarely required by insurers: £30.
Where it goes wrong
- Sending the policy schedule alone, which shows a discount level but not a claim-free history the insurer can count.
- A letter from an acente (agent) rather than the insurance company.
- Assuming the discount transfers when the policy was in a spouse’s or parent’s name.
- Leaving the letter in a drawer for three years and finding the UK insurer’s window has closed.
- Confusing the DVLA’s twelve-month licence rule with insurers’ own rules; the two are independent. See driving in the UK on a Turkish licence.
What we do and do not do
We translate the letter and any supporting record accurately, explain Turkish terms in a neutral note and certify the result. We do not negotiate with insurers or advise which policy to buy; a broker does that.
Step by step
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Ask your Turkish insurer for a hasarsızlık letter
Contact the insurance company that issued your last trafik and kasko policies, not the agent, and ask for a hasarsızlık belgesi covering all the years you were insured with them, naming you as the policyholder and stating that no claims were made. If you moved between insurers, ask each one, or obtain an SBM history through e-Devlet that covers the whole period. Request it before you leave Türkiye if you can.
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Check the letter before translating it
Read the letter for your name as in your passport, the plate number, the policy start and end dates and an explicit count of claim-free years. If it gives only a basamak number or a percentage discount, ask the insurer to add the number of years; otherwise our translator’s note will explain the system, but insurers prefer a plain figure.
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Find insurers that recognise foreign no-claims
Before buying, ask each insurer or a broker two questions: do you accept no-claims proof from Türkiye, and how recent must it be. Get the answer in writing. Some insurers accept it only at the start of a policy, not mid-term, so the order matters: proof first, then the policy.
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Order the certified translation
Send us a scan of the letter and, if the insurer has asked for it, both sides of your Turkish licence. We return certified PDFs in one to two working days, £10–20 for the letter and £10 for the licence, with a note explaining the basamak or discount level where needed.
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Submit and keep the file
Email the translated PDFs with the Turkish originals to the insurer or broker, and confirm that the discount has been applied on the policy schedule. Keep the letter and translation; at renewal a different insurer may ask for them again, and the two-year window is counted from the Turkish policy’s end date, not from when you first used the letter.
Frequently asked questions
Do UK insurers have to accept my Turkish no-claims record?
No. Recognition is a commercial choice. Some insurers accept it on the same terms as a UK no-claims discount, others give partial credit, and some refuse. Ask before you buy.
Is an SBM record from e-Devlet enough on its own?
It can be, since it shows the policies and any claims, but insurers are more comfortable with a letter from the insurer stating the number of claim-free years. Where possible send both, translated.
My kasko discount was 65 per cent. Does that become a five-year UK no-claims bonus?
That is for the insurer to decide. We translate the discount level and explain what it reflects; the UK insurer applies its own scale.
Does the translation need to be notarised?
No insurer has asked for notarisation to date. A certified translation with our company details and signature has been sufficient.