Southern Germany Floods to Cost Insurers $2.6 Billion-$3.9 Billion: Verisk

Estimated insured losses from flooding, which hit Southern Germany on May 15-June 5, will range from €2.4 billion (US$2.6 billion) to €3.6 billion (US$3.9 billion), according to Verisk, the data analytics and technology firm.

Moody’s RMS recently estimated insured losses in a slightly lower range — of €2 billion to €3 billion (US$2.1 billion to US$3.2 billion) — from the floods for the days between Thursday, May 30 and Monday, June 3.

The main flooding occurred along parts of the upper Danube River, as well as several of the Danube’s southern tributaries, with the worst impacts in Germany in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where streets, highways, homes, and businesses were flooded, said Verisk in its flood report.

Insured Flood Losses in Germany Could Range From US$2.1B to US$3.2B: Moody’s RMS

In addition, a dam on the Paar River broke in two places in the Bavarian district of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, severely flooding surrounding areas and requiring hundreds to evacuate their homes in nearby Baar-Ebenhausen, Verisk said, noting that a dyke and a dam also broke in Diedorf.

Elsewhere in Bavaria, the Schmutter, Cham, Paar, Ilm, Danube and Isar Rivers all surpassed the level 4 (highest) warning levels in several locations. In Baden-Württemberg, homes and businesses were also flooded, and an estimated 95,000 hectares of farmland were inundated.

Between noon Central European Time on Friday, May 31 and noon CET on Monday, June 3, Verisk said that 120 to 160 liters of rain per square meter fell across southern Germany, which is more than what usually falls in a month, according to Sebastian Altnau, a meteorologist with the German Weather Office, who was quoted in the Verisk report.

Nearly half of all structures in Bavaria are insured for flood, while in Baden-Württemberg that figure exceeds 90%, as flood protection was a compulsory part of property insurance in that state until 1994, said Verisk, quoting the German Insurance Association (GDV).

Included in the Verisk industry insured loss estimate is insured physical damage to property (residential, commercial, industrial, auto, agriculture), both structures and their contents, from both on- and off-floodplain flooding. Also included are additional living expenses (ALE) for residential claims and business interruption (BI) for commercial claims.

Verisk’s loss estimates do not include:

• Losses outside of Germany
• Losses to uninsured properties
• Losses to infrastructure
• Losses from extra-contractual obligations
• Losses from hazardous waste cleanup, vandalism, or civil commotion, whether directly or indirectly caused by the event
• Demand surge
• Other non-modeled losses

Source: Verisk

Photograph: After heavy rainfall, the old town in Passau, Germany, was flooded by the Danube on Tuesday June 4, 2024. (Armin Weigel/dpa via AP)

Topics Carriers Flood Germany