The bad weather gives no respite in the southern region Germany. After four deaths and extensive damage, weather alert remains high. Since last weekend, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have been flooded out of control and severe flooding has also affected the southern border with Switzerland. The massive floods damaged homes and private property and caused major transport problems, with the disruption of many railway lines. The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, visited some of the Bavarian regions affected by the floods and explained that the ongoing disaster is a good warning about the need to stop climate change: in the same region, in this year alone, there have already been four major floods. .
Meanwhile, insurers are willing to make higher than average compensation, even if it is still too early to start a policy. However, “Images from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg suggest the worst. Our company has already received many reports of accidents,” said Jörg Asmussen, managing director of the German Insurance Association (GDV). The effect of catastrophic events on the insured area depends on the coverage of the insured. According to GDV, 47% of houses in Bavaria are insured against all natural hazards, while in Baden-Württemberg the percentage is 94%. GDV said the entry level is based on local laws that require homeowners to pay for fire and natural hazards.
Asmussen cautioned that insurance alone is not a sufficient solution if the state’s flood defenses and backfires are included. For German insurance companies, in view of the impact of climate change, it is necessary to do more to strengthen resistance to floods, as shown by the dams that collapsed in Bavaria.
“We need a ban on building in flood zones, the requirement to use water-resistant building materials and better protection buildings. Only in this way, we can break the chaos of increasing claims and costs the market is increasing”, Asmussen continued.
Since the end of last year, the insurers had to deal with two floods. During the Christmas season, several rivers overflowed in northern and central Germany, causing damage estimated at 200 million euros. May’s floods in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate were also devastating, according to preliminary forecasts by GDV say.