Primary German insurer Provinzial has estimated that it faces at least €761.3 million of losses following Storm Bernd, which caused catastrophic flooding in the country last month.
Flooding in Germany, photo from Roberto Pfeil – AFP
The company had recorded a total of 33,142 claims related to the series of storms as of August 2nd.
Of these, property business accounted for 29,045 claims and $730.1 million of losses, mainly related to residential buildings and household effects, while motor business accounted for 4,097 claims and losses of €31.1 million.
Currently, over €70 million in compensation payments have already been made, but Provinzial warned that the ultimate claims bill it will face remains difficult to predict, given the extent and complexity of the damages.
Bernd is expected to drive overall economic losses of over $10 billion, with insured losses of roughly €5 billion in Germany alone, after impacting large swathes of Western and Central Europe I July.
“This catastrophic storm brought a lot of suffering to the people in our business area,” said Wolfgang Breuer, CEO of Provinzial Holding. “The Bernd low pressure area is the largest and most expensive damage event in the history of Provinzial. Now it’s about quick help for those affected.”
“As a regional insurer, we are well represented in the affected areas and have many customers there. We will support them in the coming period in a joint effort by field and office staff as a competent and efficient insurer, ”added Sabine Krummenerl, a member of the board of Provinzial Holding.
German reinsurer Deutsche Rückversicherung AG (Deutsche Rück) has said already that it is facing gross losses of between €180 million and €230 million from Bernd, but is confident that its retrocession program will limit losses to only a “moderate” range of €40 million to €50 million.
Allianz is similarly expecting gross losses of €900 million from Bernd in Europe, of which it anticipates around €500 million will be covered by its reinsurance, while Generali has confirmed that its reinsurance program will cap its losses at €100 million.
Additionally, reinsurance giant Hannover Re said recently that it expects to incur net losses of between €200 million to €250 million from the storm and flooding, while Swiss Re has warned of losses in mid-triple single digits.
