The German Insurance Association (GDV) has reported that German catastrophe and weather insured losses amount to an estimated €4.3 billion in 2022, making it an average claims year for the industry.
Severe weather such as storms and heavy rain regularly caused severe damage to buildings and cars this year, with the heaviest damage of 2022 caused by windstorms in February.
Windstorms Ylenia, Zeynep and Antonia together caused about €1.25 billion in damage to houses, household goods and businesses, as well as around 65,000 damage to motor vehicles amounting to €125 million, according to GDV data.
“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,” said Jörg Asmussen, General Manager of the 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.”
In total, GDV reports that property insurers will pay out €3 billion for storm and hail damage in 2022 and a further €400 million for damage caused by other natural hazards such as floods caused by heavy rain or high water.
In motor insurance, the past year is slightly below the long-term average of €1 billion, with an estimated 335,000 claims due to natural hazards totalling €900 million.
“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,” said Asmussen. “We insurers appeal to politicians to make this the focus of their considerations.”
At €12.6 billion, 2021 is recorded as the most expensive natural hazard year for insurers since statistics began in the 1970s. The devastating flood disaster in July 2021 alone caused damage of €8.5 billion – especially in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.
