Increase in storm damage: the first home insurer had to increase premiums

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Storm, hail, lightning and wind speeds of more than 200 kilometers per hour: Monday a storm raged over La Chaux-de-Fonds NE and left a trail of destruction.

Insurance companies will feel that too. Rain and wind entered the building through windows and roofs destroyed by the gust of wind, causing extensive damage. The full extent – ​​still unclear.

Losses from catastrophes are likely to continue to mount

An image that, according to the insurers, will have to get used to. Axa expects the storms to become more intense in the future and the hailstones to become larger. The Swiss reinsurer Swiss Re also paints a gloomy picture. According to a study published in 2021, insured losses from weather-related disasters will increase by 30 to 63 percent by 2040.

And the Association of Cantonal Construction Insurance (VKG) says when asked: “According to experts, climate change is a factor that can lead to an increase in storms and weather conditions.” Homeowners are also likely to be affected if premiums rise.

Many extreme weather conditions can lead to higher premiums

Still, the VGK does not assume that such events will generally drive up premiums – because it is a long-term view. In terms of natural disasters, the damage fluctuates from year to year, which is also reflected in the VGK figures for the past 20 years.

The premium rate is calculated on the basis of the average course of events in the insurance segment of a cantonal home insurance policy. In concrete terms, this means that if there are many storms in a year, the premiums can rise. Sometimes it also depends on the region.

Home insurance Bern (GVB) made a loss for the first time in years in 2022 and had a debt of CHF 7.8 million. The year was marked by smaller but more numerous claims – often caused by heavy rainfall, flooding and hail. The result: GVB dispenses with the usual profit sharing in the form of premium discounts. However, the premium for compulsory basic insurance in the canton of Bern has not increased in the past 20 years.

Canton of Bern – more claims in the last ten years

However, the comparison over five years is impressive: it shows that GVB registered 118 percent more damage reports from 2018 to 2022 than in the previous five years. At the same time, the amount of damage increased by 85 percent.

At the Thurgauer Gebäudeversicherung (GVTG), reserves shrunk after the stormy summer of 2021 because the increasing number of claims were not covered by insurance income. In one fell swoop, premiums rose by about 25 percent. (Okay)

Source:Blick