German Insurance Companies have Issued the Highest Payout in 2021

In 2021 German insurance companies paid the highest compensation compared to the previous 40 years. The companies spent 12.5 billion euros to compensate for the damage caused by natural disasters. A statement from the German Insurers’ Association, GDV, said:

“The statistics have been recorded since the 1970s and 2021 has been the most expensive year, as insurance for homes, cars, and businesses affected by the disaster has raised $ 12.5 billion,” the statement commented.

However, the report said that most of the payout, namely $ 9 billion from $ 12.5 billion was spent on homes and businesses affected by floods and torrential rains, while $ 2 billion was offset by damage caused by storms and hail. The remaining $ 1.5 billion was compensated for disaster-damaged vehicles to be repaired.

According to the GDV, more money was spent on compensation in 2021 than in 2002, when the country was hit by devastating floods and storms in August. At that time, the amount of compensation was 11.3 billion euros, and in 1990 the amount of financial loss caused by the hurricane was 11.5 billion euros.

Because of climate change, researchers expect losses from floods, hail, or severe storms to increase in countries such as Germany in the coming years.

Insurance giant Swiss Re estimated earlier this month that natural disasters had caused $105 billion worth of damage globally, with hurricane Ida in the US costing $30-32 billion. According to the German insurance industry, the long-term average is €3.8 billion per year.