Advertisement

Storm ‘Xynthia’ could cost Allianz €300 million

DDP/The Local
DDP/The Local - [email protected]
Storm ‘Xynthia’ could cost Allianz €300 million
Photo: DPA

The deadly Atlantic storm ‘Xynthia’ could end up costing German insurance giant Allianz €300 million after leaving a wake of destruction across Europe last weekend.

Advertisement

The head of research and development at Allianz Re, Silvio Tschudi, said in Munich on Thursday that damage claims from Portugal, Spain, France and Germany would total between €100 million and €300 million.

The catastrophe risk analysis firm AIR Worldwide has estimated ‘Xynthia’ was responsible for €1.5 billion and €3 billion in damages across Europe.

The violent storm cut a deadly swathe through Western Europe last week, killing over 50 people amid gusts of up to 150 kilometres per hour and eight-metre (26 foot) waves.

The brutal winter in Germany had also caused an inordinate amount of smaller claims for insurers, which had to cover pedestrians slipping on icy sidewalks, frozen pipes bursting and weather-related business closures.

But Tschudi said the cold winter was neither proof for or against global warming, pointing instead to long-term weather trends showing an increase in natural disasters.

“According to our estimates, damages covered by insurers will increase on average $41 billion per year between 2010 and 2019,” he said.

Click here for The Local's weather forecast.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also