Weather & storm insured losses hit EUR4.3bn in Germany in 2022: GDV

Insurance market losses from severe weather, storms or natural catastrophe events in Germany have reached EUR 4.3 billion in 2022 so far, according to German insurance association, the GDV.

The insurance association calls this an average year for losses that flowed to insurance and reinsurance interests in Germany after natural events.

The main driver of the EUR 4.3 billion loss tally was windstorm activity, with February’s Ylenia, Zeynep, Antonia seen as the biggest contributor to insured losses for this year.

Storms, heavy rainfall events and hail plus convective weather are the bulk of the losses for 2022, the GDV said.

“After the 2021 flood disaster, the past year was again an average natural hazard year: with many insurance claims, but without such an extreme event as the Bernd flash flood,” explained Jörg Asmussen, General Manager of the German Insurance Association (GDV).

“The damage to houses, household goods, businesses and motor vehicles in 2022 is only marginally above the long-term average of 4.2 billion euros,” he added.

The series of European windstorms in February, Ylenia, Zeynep and Antonia, drove EUR 1.25 billion of property insured losses, as well as another EUR 125 million of insured losses to auto lines of insurance business.

“With a total of 1.4 billion euros, the storm series is the third most severe winter storm since 2002,” Asmussen said.

For contrast, PERILS AG estimated this windstorm series as causing EUR 3.74 billion of insurance market losses across Europe.

Property insurers are expected to pay out EUR 3 billion of windstorm and hail related insured losses in Germany this year, with a further EUR 400 million to be paid for damage caused by other natural hazards such as floods caused by heavy rain or high water.

Motor insurers are estimated to pay out EUR 900 million in 2022, slightly below the long-term average for the year, on an estimated 335,000 claims for natural hazard related damage during the year.

Last year, 2021, saw Germany’s insurance industry facing record losses of EUR 12.6 billion, with the flood disaster in July 2021 alone causing EUR 8.5 billion in losses.

“Even if there were no extreme rainfall events in the past year: Prevention and adaptation to the consequences of climate change are the linchpin so that costs caused by natural disasters and thus also insurance premiums do not get out of hand in the future,” says Asmussen. “We insurers appeal to politicians to make this the focus of their considerations.”