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Firefighters on Tuesday in Lower Saxony: municipalities should be able to rebuild sewers
Photo: dpa
Hundreds of cellars were full, trees fell, hail destroyed cars: Heavy storms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland have caused major damage in the past ten days.
Experts estimate that these costs will cost insurers more than 2.5 billion euros.
For comparison: According to data from the industry association GDV, insurers in Germany had to pay 1.95 billion euros for the consequences of natural hazards such as storms, hail and floods throughout 2020.
The storm and hail damage that the low pressure areas "Volker" and "Wolfgang" recently brought with them would have caused more than two billion euros insured damage in the German-speaking area, said actuary Onnen Siems, managing director of the consulting firm Meyerthole Siems Kohlruss (MSK).
After the storms, Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock has now demanded extensive state compensation for the victims of weather disasters.
In an interview with the Funke media group, she called for a "large climate adjustment fund at the federal level", "through which those who have lost their belongings due to weather-related disasters are compensated".
Many people are not insured against it.
Third warmest June since weather records began
"Right now in Germany we are experiencing extreme weather events, currently the floods, last year massive forest fires, during the drought years farmers failed to harvest," said Baerbock.
She also proposed a “climate provision fund” for the municipalities - for example to convert the sewer system.
"You can just see that the sewer system in many places is not able to withstand such amounts of precipitation."
According to MSK boss Siems, "more than half" of the most recent damage occurred in Germany - especially in the auto comprehensive insurance division.
The low »Xero« caused hail damage mainly in Switzerland, while in southern Germany there were floods.
Siems brings the accumulation of storms in connection with climate change.
June was - after 2003 and 2019 - the third warmest since weather records began in 1881.
On average, it is 2.6 degrees warmer than the average for the past 30 years.
The warm, humid air discharged in thunderstorms with lightning, heavy rain, storms and hail.
"A connection between insurance claims and climate change is obvious."
Green politician Baerbock suggests improvements not only against storms, but also in the fight against the consequences of the summer heat.
She suggested a nationwide heat hotline.
Elderly people in particular suffered greatly from the effects of great heat.
apr / Reuters / AFP
