Pre-Commitment Freeze — DASK Earthquake Insurance
Before a buyer pays a substantial deposit or enters an obligation that is difficult to unwind, it is useful to freeze the DASK position at a clearly documented point in time. “Freeze” does not mean legally locking the policy. It means preserving what was true when the commitment decision was made: which policy was in force, which address and dwelling it covered, what floor area and construction type were used, and what insured amount and premium appeared. This matters because DASK policies can be renewed or corrected and the tariff itself changes over time.
What a pre-commitment snapshot should contain
Record the policy number, start and end dates, insured person, open address and address code where available, title/unit information, gross floor area, construction year, construction type, floor count, damage status, insured amount and premium. DASK lists these types of property and dwelling data among the information used for policy issuance and states that compulsory earthquake insurance is declaration-based. Preserving only the PDF without the data that drives it gives an incomplete snapshot.
The date of the official inquiry should also be captured. “A policy issued in May” is not the same evidential statement as “the policy was officially checked on 20 August.” If a renewal occurs later, the two states can be compared instead of debating which version the buyer actually relied on.
The current tariff belongs in the context of the freeze
For policies starting on 1 August 2026, DASK publishes unit construction costs of TRY 11,562/m² for reinforced-concrete buildings and TRY 7,708/m² for other structures, with a maximum insured amount of TRY 2,451,062 per dwelling. Recording the policy start date is therefore essential: an older policy may legitimately have been calculated under an earlier tariff. A different insured amount between two versions does not automatically make one wrong; each must be read against the tariff applicable to its start date.
When a commitment should pause rather than merely note a caveat
If the policy will expire before the expected transfer date, the address does not match the dwelling, or the floor area and construction type conflict with reliable property data, the existing policy is not a strong basis for commitment. The same is true if an official inquiry cannot confirm the policy or if a newer policy appears and the change is unexplained. A non-refundable payment should not be made on the assumption that “DASK is complete” while a material identity or validity issue remains open.
The freeze must not be misunderstood as a general certification of the property. DASK documents insurance status; structural safety, risky-building determination, occupancy permission and optional building insurance are different topics with different evidence.
How to treat changes after the freeze
Any later change should be retained as a new version that can be compared with the frozen state: renewal, change of insured person, address correction, floor-area correction, adjustment of insured amount or another amendment to building data. The earlier version should not be silently overwritten. Keep both dates, state why the change occurred, who initiated it and whether it affects the purchase decision.
A normal annual renewal before closing can be handled by updating the file to the new policy while preserving the version relied on when the commitment was made. A correction showing that the earlier policy related to a different dwelling is much more serious; that is an identity problem, not simply a renewal.
Relationship with lending and title procedures
DASK may also matter in mortgage, title or utility procedures, but this record remains about the insurance position itself. Bank approval or completion of another administrative step should not substitute for reading and matching the policy. Another institution may verify only what it needs for its own process, whereas the buyer’s file should establish that the policy data actually correspond to the property being acquired.
Conclusion
A pre-commitment DASK freeze is a documented statement of the insurance position on which the buyer relied: a specific policy, checked on a specific date, tied to a specific dwelling and set of building data. It separates “what was true when the decision was made” from what may become true after renewal or correction. If a material field changes before closing, the change should be assessed rather than assuming that the old snapshot remains sufficient.