Billion Euro Damages Wreak Havoc - More in the South Than Ever
Natural Disasters Inflict Heavy Financial Losses, Particularly in the Southern Regions - Devastating natural disasters inflect massive financial losses, predominantly in the southern regions.
Hey there! Let's chat about the whopping damages caused by those pesky natural hazards in Germany last year. You wouldn't believe it, but those property and car insurers took a massive hit of around 5.7 billion euros! That's just as much as the year before, and it mostly affected the two southern states – Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. I'm guessing those heavy flooding incidents played a major role.
While that number might sound staggering, it's probably safe to assume that the actual damages are even higher. See, not everything's always insured. For instance, only about half of the damages from the intense flooding in these two states last year was covered by insurance.
GDV CEO Jörg Asmussen mentioned something intriguing regarding these insurance figures. He noticed a strong connection between the dramatic increase in insured damages and the visible impacts of climate change. Climate change, it seems, is becoming increasingly noticeable in Germany. As for storm and hail damages, they actually decreased last year. In car insurance, claims due to natural hazards amounted to about 1.3 billion euros, which is roughly the long-term average.
Guess which states topped the list for insured damages? Baden-Württemberg came in first with 1.601 billion euros, just barely beating Bavaria with 1.600 billion. It's likely that Bavaria had the highest total damages, but since we don't have that data, we can't be one hundred percent sure. North Rhine-Westphalia, on the other hand, took the third spot with 613 million euros, mostly due to storm and hail incidents.
The states with the lowest damages were Bremen with 17 million euros, Berlin with 39 million euros, and Hamburg with 67 million euros.
Now, with such high damages compared to the long-term average, the German Insurance Association is calling for climate change adaptation to be a top priority for the new federal government. They suggest mandatory insurance alone won't prevent damages and advocate for a comprehensive natural hazard concept that includes insurance solutions and preventive measures. Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) agrees, stating that without better insurance protection, things will only get worse in the future.
Key Points:
- Natural hazards led to billion-euro damages in Germany in 2023, the majority of which affected Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg due to heavy flooding.
- Climate change is believed to be a major factor in the increased frequency and severity of natural hazards, necessitating the implementation of adaptation measures.
- The debate on mandatory insurance continues, with state environment ministers calling for mandatory natural hazard coverage in new home insurance contracts.
[1] More details about specific damages in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg can be found here: [Climate Adaptation Report: Bavaria & Baden-Württemberg][5] For further insights on the debate on mandatory insurance, check out: [Insurance Adaptation Proposals for German States]
- The community policy could include strategies for climate change adaptation to minimize damages caused by natural hazards in regions like Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where the impacts of climate change seem to be more noticeable.
- The employment policies could consider the rise of jobs in environmental science and finance, particularly in areas related to risk management, climate change modeling, and sustainable development, given the growing need for these expertise due to increased natural hazards and the financial implications of climate-change-related damages.
